Partial Adaptation for Butanol Production

ABSTRACT

Provided herein are processes for producing an improved culture of cells comprising an engineered butanol biosynthetic pathway. The processes comprise (a) providing a cell culture of recombinant microorganisms comprising an engineered butanol biosynthetic pathway, wherein the engineered butanol biosynthetic pathway is minimal or not activated; and (b) growing the culture of recombinant microorganisms under adaptive conditions whereby pathway activation is increased to produce an improved cell culture and whereby said improved cell culture is capable of continuing to grow in fermentation.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims benefit of priority from U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/842,817, filed Jul. 3, 2013, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

REFERENCE TO SEQUENCE LISTING SUBMITTED ELECTRONICALLY

The content of the electronically submitted sequence listing in ASCII text file (Name: 20140701_CL6041USNP_SeqList_ST25; Size 140,188 bytes, and Date of Creation: Jun. 23, 2014) filed with the application is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to the field of industrial microbiology and the fermentative production of butanol and isomers thereof. More specifically, the invention relates to processes to produce improved cell cultures in order to maximize biomass production, minimize timing of the propagation and production phases of fermentation, and achieve economical production or butanol and isomers thereof.

BACKGROUND

Butanol is an important industrial chemical, useful as a fuel additive, as a feedstock chemical in the plastics industry, and as a food grade extractant in the food and flavor industry. Accordingly, there is a high demand for butanol, as well as for efficient production methods. One production method which has the potential to reduce environmental impact includes the production of butanol utilizing fermentation by recombinant microorganisms.

Maximum butanol production will require optimization of the recombinant microorganism comprising a butanol biosynthetic pathway and optimization of the process by which butanol is produced. Growth of the recombinant microorganism in different stages of the process is critical for the butanol process. The three phases (e.g., (1) the growth phase, (2) the propagation phase, and (3) the production phase) of the process have different operating conditions, which results in different physiological states for the recombinant microorganism. Pathway leakage and accumulation of inhibitory intermediates can limit growth rate and limit maximum cell density achieved at each stage. An intricate combination of genetic and process solutions to achieve the desired overall volumetric productivities would represent an advance in the art.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Provided herein are processes to produce improved cell cultures in order to maximize biomass production, minimize timing of the propagation and production phases of fermentation, and achieve economical production of butanol and isomers thereof.

Provided herein are processes for producing an improved culture of cells comprising an engineered butanol biosynthetic pathway. The processes comprise (a) providing a cell culture of recombinant microorganisms comprising an engineered butanol biosynthetic pathway, wherein said engineered butanol biosynthetic pathway is minimally or not activated; and (b) growing the culture of recombinant microorganisms under adaptive conditions whereby pathway activation is increased to produce an improved cell culture and whereby said improved cell culture is capable of continuing to grow in fermentation. In certain embodiments the fermentation can comprise a propagation phase and a production phase.

In certain embodiments, the improved cell culture is characterized by at least one of an increase in biomass production in the propagation phase, an increase in biomass production in the production phase, a reduction in the amount of time in the propagation phase, reduction in the amount of time in the production phase, an increase in butanol yield, an increase in butanol productivity, an increase in biomass yield, a reduction or elimination of production of a inhibitory products in the propagation phase, a delay in the production of a inhibitory products in the production phase.

In certain embodiments, the adaptive conditions comprise at least one of a source of carbon substrate, a dissolved oxygen concentration, a temperature, a pH, a carbon substrate (e.g., glucose) concentration, a butanol concentration, a butanol metabolite concentration, a 2-butanone concentration, or an added component to the fermentation media (e.g., a biochemical or chemical activator). The adaptive conditions can comprise a carbon substrate concentration (e.g., glucose concentration) and a dissolved oxygen concentration.

Also provided herein are processes for the production of a partially adapted cell culture. The processes comprise (a) providing a cell culture of recombinant microorganisms comprising an engineered butanol biosynthetic pathway, wherein the culture has a maximum q_(p), wherein production of butanol via the engineered butanol biosynthetic pathway is affected by adaptive conditions, and wherein the culture is provided at a q_(p) at least about 0.01% of the maximum q_(p), and (b) growing the culture in a propagation phase of a fermentation process, wherein the propagation phase is characterized by a first set adaptive conditions, and wherein the culture grows for at least one generation such that the q_(p) increases to at least 20% of the maximum q_(p), whereby a partially adapted cell culture is produced. Optionally, the processes further comprise (c) providing the partially adapted cell culture in a production phase of a fermentation process, wherein the production phase is characterized by a second set of adaptive conditions, and wherein the q_(p) of the partially adapted cell culture increases to at least about 50% of the maximum q_(p).

In certain embodiments, the processes comprise (a) providing a cell culture of recombinant microorganisms comprising an engineered butanol biosynthetic pathway, wherein the culture has a maximum q_(p), wherein production of butanol via the engineered butanol biosynthetic pathway is affected by adaptive conditions, and wherein the culture is provided at a q_(p) at least about 0.01% of the maximum q_(p); (b) growing the culture in a propagation phase of a fermentation process, wherein the propagation phase is characterized by a first set of adaptive conditions, and wherein the culture grows for at least two generations such that the q_(p) increases to at least 20% of the maximum q_(p), whereby a partially adapted cell culture is produced; and (c) providing the partially adapted cell culture in a production phase of a fermentation process, wherein the production phase is characterized by a second set of adaptive conditions, and wherein the q_(p) of the partially adapted cell culture increases to at least about 50% of the maximum q_(p).

In certain embodiments, the processes comprise (a) providing a cell culture of recombinant microorganisms comprising an engineered butanol biosynthetic pathway, wherein the culture has a maximum q_(p), wherein production of butanol via the engineered butanol biosynthetic pathway is affected by adaptive conditions, and wherein the culture is provided at a q_(p) at least about 0.01% of the maximum q_(p); (b) growing the culture in a propagation phase of a fermentation process, wherein the propagation phase is characterized by a first set of adaptive conditions, and wherein the culture grows for at least two generations such that the q_(p) increases to at least 20% of the maximum q_(p), whereby a partially adapted cell culture is produced; and (c) growing the partially adapted cell culture in a production phase of a fermentation process, wherein the production phase is characterized by a second set of adaptive conditions, and wherein the culture grows for at least two generations such that the q_(p) of the partially adapted cell culture increases to at least about 50% of the maximum q_(p).

In certain embodiments, the processes comprise (a) providing a cell culture of recombinant microorganisms comprising an engineered isobutanol biosynthetic pathway, wherein the culture has a maximum q_(p), wherein production of isobutanol via the engineered isobutanol biosynthetic pathway is affected by adaptive conditions, and wherein the culture is provided at a q_(p) at least about 0.01% of the maximum q_(p); (b) growing the culture in a propagation phase of a fermentation process, wherein the propagation phase is characterized by a first set of adaptive conditions, and wherein the culture grows for at least one generation such that the q_(p) increases to at least 20% of the maximum q_(p), whereby a partially adapted cell culture is produced; and (c) growing the partially adapted cell culture in a production phase of a fermentation process, wherein the production phase is characterized by a second set of adaptive conditions, and wherein the culture grows for at least one generation such that the q_(p) of the partially adapted cell culture increases to at least about 50% of the maximum q_(p); wherein the culture produces isobutanol, and optionally, wherein the isobutanol is recovered.

In certain embodiments, the culture is provided at a cell density of at least about 0.1 g/L. Optionally, the culture is provided at a cell density of at least about 0.5 g/L; at least about 1 g/L; or at least about 2 g/L.

In certain embodiments, the minimally activated culture is provided at a q_(p) of at least about 0.01% to about 10% of the maximum q_(p); at least about 0.01% to about 5% of the maximum q_(p); at least about 0.01% to about 1% of the maximum q_(p), or any value in between.

In certain embodiments, the minimally activated culture is provided at a q_(p) of about 0.01 grams per gram of dry cell weight per hour (g/g dcw/hr) to about 0.1 g/g dcw/hr; a q_(p) of about 0.01 g/g dcw/hr to about 0.08 g/g dcw/hr; a q_(p) of about 0.01 g/g dcw/hr to about 0.05 g/g dcw/hr; a q_(p) of about 0.01 g/g dcw/hr to about 0.03 g/g dcw/hr; a q_(p) of about 0.02 g/g dcw/hr to about 0.08 g/g dcw/hr; a q_(p) of about 0.02 g/g dcw/hr to about 0.04 g/g dcw/hr; a q_(p) of about 0.04 g/g dcw/hr to about 0.08 g/g dcw/hr; a q_(p) of about 0.05 g/g dcw/hr to about 0.10 g/g dcw/hr, or any value in between. Optionally, the minimally activated culture is provided at a q_(p) of at least about 0.01 g/g dcw/hr, at least about 0.05 g/g dcw/hr, or at least about 0.10 g/g dcw/hr.

In certain embodiments, the inactivated culture is provided at a q_(p) of about 0.0 g/g dcw/hr.

In certain embodiments, growing the culture under adaptive conditions increases pathway activation to produce an improved cell culture such that the q_(p) increases to about 20% to about 50% of the maximum q_(p); about 20% to about 40% of the maximum q_(p); about 20% to about 30% of the maximum q_(p), or any value in between. In certain embodiments, growing the culture under adaptive conditions increases the pathway activation to produce an improved cell culture such that the q_(p) increases to at least about 20% of the maximum q_(p); at least about 30% of the maximum q_(p); at least about 40% of the maximum q_(p); or at least about 50% of the maximum q_(p). In certain embodiments, the q_(p) increases to these levels in the propagation phase.

In certain embodiments, growing the culture under adaptive conditions increases pathway activation to produce an improved cell culture such that the q_(p) increases to about 0.10 g/g dcw/hr to about 0.50 g/g dcw/hr; about 0.20 g/g dcw/hr to about 0.50 g/g dcw/hr; about 0.20 g/g dcw/hr to about 0.40 g/g dcw/hr; about 0.20 g/g dcw/hr to about 0.30 g/g dcw/hr; about 0.30 g/g dcw/hr to about 0.50 g/g dcw/hr; about 0.40 g/g dcw/hr to about 0.50 g/g dcw/hr, or any value in between. In certain embodiments, growing the culture under adaptive conditions increases pathway activation to produce an improved cell culture such that the q_(p) increases to at least about 0.10 g/g dcw/hr; at least about 0.20 g/g dcw/hr; at least about 0.30 g/g dcw/hr; at least about 0.40 g/g dcw/hr; or at least about 0.50 g/g dcw/hr. In certain embodiments, the qp increases in the propagation phase.

In certain embodiments, growing the culture under adaptive conditions increases pathway activation to produce an improved cell culture such that the q_(p) increases to at least about 50% of the maximum q_(p); at least about 75% of the maximum q_(p); at least about 90% of the maximum q_(p). In certain embodiments, the q_(p) increases to these levels in the production phase.

In certain embodiments, growing the culture under adaptive conditions increases pathway activation to produce an improved cell culture such that the q_(p) increases to at least about 0.50 g/gdcw/hr; at least about 0.60 g/g dcw/hr; at least about 0.70 g/g dcw/hr; at least about 0.80 g/g dcw/hr; or at least about 0.85 g/g dcw/hr. In certain embodiments, the q_(p) increases to these levels in the production phase.

In certain embodiments, the culture grows for at least one generation; at least two generations; at least three generations; at least five generations; or at least eight generations. Optionally, the culture grows for at least two to at least eight generations, at least two to at least six generations, or at least two to at least four generations. In certain embodiments the culture is capable of growing in propagation phase, the production phase, or both the propagation and the production phase.

In certain embodiments, growing the culture under adaptive conditions increases the biomass production of the culture to a cell density of about 5 g/L to about 15 g/L; about 5 g/L to about 10 g/L; about 8 g/L to about 10 g/L, or any value in between.

In certain embodiments, the improved culture results in a reduction or elimination of an inhibitory product or a delay in the accumulation of an inhibitory product. The reduction or elimination of the inhibitory product can occur in the propagation phase. Optionally the inhibitory product is butanol. In certain embodiments, the improved cell culture comprises a butanol concentration of about 0 g/L to about 10 g/L; about 0 g/L to about 5 g/L; or about 2 g/L to about 5 g/L, or any value in between, in the propagation phase. The delay in accumulation of the inhibitory product can, for example, occur in the production phase. Optionally, the butanol concentration is at least about 25 g/L in the production phase. Optionally, the butanol concentration is about 25 g/L to about 200 g/L or any value in between. In certain embodiments, the inhibitory product is isobutyric acid. Optionally, the isobutyric acid concentration is about 0 g/L to about 2.5 g/L; about 0 g/L to about 1 g/L; or about 1 g/L to about 2 g/L, or in any value in between.

The recombinant microorganism can comprise a butanol biosynthetic pathway selected from the group consisting of (a) a 1-butanol biosynthetic pathway; (b) a 2-butanol biosynthetic pathway; and (c) an isobutanol biosynthetic pathway.

In certain embodiments, the recombinant microorganism is from a genus selected from the group consisting of Clostridium, Zymomonas, Escherichia, Salmonella, Serratia, Erwinia, Klebsiella, Shigella, Rhodococcus, Pseudomonas, Bacillus, Lactobacillus, Lactococcus, Enterococcus, Alcaligenes, Paenibacillus, Arthrobacter, Corynebacterium, Brevibacterium, Schizosaccharomyces, Kluveromyces, Yarrowia, Pichia, Zygosaccharomyces, Debaryomyces, Candida, Brettanomyces, Pachysolen, Hansenula, Issatchenkia, Trichosporon, Yamadazyma, and Saccharomyces.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs. In case of conflict, the present application including the definitions will control. Also, unless otherwise required by context, singular terms shall include pluralities and plural terms shall include the singular. All publications, patents and other references mentioned herein are incorporated by reference in their entireties for all purposes as if each individual publication or patent application were specifically and individually indicated to be incorporated by reference, unless only specific sections of patents or patent publications are indicated to be incorporated by reference.

In order to further define this invention, the following terms, abbreviations and definitions are provided.

As used herein, the terms “comprises,” “comprising,” “includes,” “including,” “has,” “having,” “contains” or “containing,” or any other variation thereof, will be understood to imply the inclusion of a stated integer or group of integers but not the exclusion of any other integer or group of integers and are intended to be non-exclusive or open-ended. For example, a composition, a mixture, a process, a method, an article, or an apparatus that comprises a list of elements is not necessarily limited to only those elements but can include other elements not expressly listed or inherent to such composition, mixture, process, method, article, or apparatus. Further, unless expressly stated to the contrary, “or” refers to an inclusive or and not to an exclusive or. For example, a condition A or B is satisfied by any one of the following: A is true (or present) and B is false (or not present), A is false (or not present) and B is true (or present), and both A and B are true (or present).

As used herein, the term “consists of,” or variations such as “consist of” or “consisting of,” as used throughout the specification and claims, indicate the inclusion of any recited integer or group of integers, but that no additional integer or group of integers can be added to the specified method, structure, or composition.

As used herein, the term “consists essentially of,” or variations such as “consist essentially of” or “consisting essentially of,” as used throughout the specification and claims, indicate the inclusion of any recited integer or group of integers, and the optional inclusion of any recited integer or group of integers that do not materially change the basic or novel properties of the specified method, structure or composition. See M.P.E.P. §2111.03.

Also, the indefinite articles “a” and “an” preceding an element or component of the invention are intended to be nonrestrictive regarding the number of instances, i.e., occurrences of the element or component. Therefore “a” or “an” should be read to include one or at least one, and the singular word form of the element or component also includes the plural unless the number is obviously meant to be singular.

The term “invention” or “present invention” as used herein is a non-limiting term and is not intended to refer to any single embodiment of the particular invention but encompasses all possible embodiments as described in the claims as presented or as later amended and supplemented, or in the specification.

As used herein, the term “about” modifying the quantity of an ingredient or reactant of the invention employed refers to variation in the numerical quantity that can occur, for example, through typical measuring and liquid handling procedures used for making concentrates or solutions in the real world; through inadvertent error in these procedures; through differences in the manufacture, source, or purity of the ingredients employed to make the compositions or to carry out the methods; and the like. The term “about” also encompasses amounts that differ due to different equilibrium conditions for a composition resulting from a particular initial mixture. Whether or not modified by the term “about”, the claims include equivalents to the quantities. In one embodiment, the term “about” means within 10% of the reported numerical value, or within 5% of the reported numerical value.

The term “minimally activated” as used herein refers to a level of activation of the engineered butanol biosynthetic pathway in which there is a minimal rate of butanol production (e.g., less than about 0.01, 0.02, 0.03, 0.04, 0.05, 0.06, 0.07, 0.08, 0.09, 0.10, or 0.20 grams of butanol per gram of dry cell weight of cells per hour (g/g dcw/hr)) by the culture of the recombinant microorganism and/or a level of activation of the engineered butanol biosynthetic pathway in which the q_(p) of the cell culture is at least about 0.01% to at least about 10% of the maximum q_(p) of the culture, or any interval therein. The q_(p) of the cell culture can, for example, be about 0.01 g/g dcw/hr to about 0.10 g/g dcw/hr.

The term “inactivated” as used herein refers to a level of activation of the engineered butanol biosynthetic pathway in which there is no measurable rate of butanol production by the recombinant microorganism and/or a level of activation of the engineered butanol biosynthetic pathway in which the q_(p) of the cell culture is about 0 g/g dcw/hr.

The term “increased activation” as used herein refers to any increase in cell culture activation at any time point in the fermentation process as compared to a previous time point in the fermentation process. By way of an example, increased activation can refer to an increase in cell culture activation above a minimally activated or inactivated cell culture where the culture of recombinant microorganisms achieves an increased rate of butanol production above a minimally activated or inactivated culture butanol production rate. For example, an increased activation of a minimally activated recombinant microorganism culture having a minimal rate of butanol production and/or having a q_(p) of about 0.01% of the maximum q_(p) of the recombinant microorganism can result in a recombinant microorganism culture with an increased rate of butan1 production in comparison to the minimally activated culture and/or having a q_(p) of at least about 20% of the maximum q_(p) of culture. Increased activation can also be determined by calculating an activation ratio for the culture. Increased activation can be measured by methods known in the art, including, but not limited to, measuring an increase in the expression of an enzyme of the engineered butanol biosynthetic pathway, measuring an increase in the activity of an enzyme of the engineered butanol biosynthetic pathway, measuring an increase in the amount of butanol produced in the fermentation process, and/or measuring an increase in the amount of a byproduct (e.g., isobutyric acid) or other pathway metabolites produced in the fermentation process.

The term “activation ratio” as used herein, in certain embodiments, refers to a ratio of the q_(p) of the cell culture at any given time point in the fermentation as compared to the q_(p) of a cell culture at any previous time point in the fermentation. An activation ratio greater than 1 indicates that the culture has increased activation of the engineered butanol biosynthetic pathway. By way of an example, a minimally activated cell culture comprising a q_(p) of 0.01 g/g dcw/hr provided at the beginning of a fermentation and grown under adaptive conditions can increase activation to a q_(p) 0.20 g/g dcw/hr during the fermentation process. The cell culture has an activation ratio of 20. In other embodiments, activation ratio can refer to a ratio of the q_(p) of the cell culture at any given time point in the fermentation as compared to the q_(p) of a cell culture at any previous time point in the fermentation. In other embodiments, activation ratio can refer to a ratio of expression of an enzyme (e.g., acetolactate synthase) at any given time point in the fermentation as compared to the expression of the enzyme at any previous time point in the fermentation. Activation ratios can be calculated by methods known in the art, including, but not limited to, measuring an increase in the expression of an enzyme of the engineered butanol biosynthetic pathway, measuring an increase in the activity of an enzyme of the engineered butanol biosynthetic pathway, measuring an increase in the amount of butanol produced in the fermentation process, and/or measuring an increase in the amount of a byproduct (e.g., isobutyric acid) or other pathway metabolites produced in the fermentation process.

The term “adaptive conditions” as used herein refers to process conditions whereby the engineered butanol biosynthetic pathway is differentially activated. Adaptive conditions can, for example, refer to process conditions, e.g., which can include conditions during growth, culture, production, propagation, and/or fermentation, or other processes with suitable conditions for such processes that allow for changes in the level of adaptation of the recombinant microorganism. Adaptation includes increases in activation as described herein. Adaptive conditions may promote the change from a minimally activated or inactivated culture or recombinant microorganisms to a partially or fully adapted culture. Levels of adaptation can, for example, be determined by comparing the q_(p) of the culture to the maximum q_(p) for the culture. Alternatively, levels of adaptation can be determined by comparing the q_(p) of the culture at different time points during the growth of the culture. An increase in q_(p) can indicate an increase in the level of adaptation of the culture. Alternatively, levels of adaptation of the recombinant microorganism can, for example, be determined by measuring the level of expression of an enzyme of the engineered butanol biosynthetic pathway, measuring the activity of an enzyme of the engineered butanol biosynthetic pathway, measuring the amount of butanol produced by the recombinant microorganism, and/or measuring an increase in the amount of a byproduct produced by the recombinant microorganism. Examples of process conditions that can result in changes in the level of adaptation of the recombinant microorganism can include, but are not limited to, the source of the carbon substrate, a dissolved oxygen concentration, a temperature, a pH, a substrate (e.g., glucose) concentration, an added component to the fermentation media (e.g., a biochemical or chemical activator), a butanol concentration, a butanol metabolite concentration, or a 2-butanone concentration.

The term “cell culture” or “culture” as used herein refers to a population of recombinant microorganisms that can be provided at the start of a cell production process. The cell culture can be produced by methods known in the art, including, but not limited to, a seed population produced from a stock vial of the recombinant microorganism, a population produced from a solid media substrate (e.g., an agar plate or agar slant), a flask culture produced from a stock culture of the recombinant microorganism, a cell population of recombinant microorganism derived from one or more fermentor vessels (e.g., batch, fed-batch, or continuous fermentation configurations), a dried population of the recombinant microorganism (e.g., an active dry yeast), a semi-dried population of the recombinant microorganism (e.g., a yeast cream and/or a yeast cake).

The term “improved culture” as used herein refers to a culture that is produced by growing the recombinant microorganism under adaptive conditions that allow for process improvements. Examples of process improvements can include but are not limited to, an increase in biomass production of the recombinant microorganism in the propagation and/or production phase, an increase in biomass yield in the propagation and/or production phase, a reduction in the amount of time for the propagation and/or production phase, a reduction or elimination of the production of an inhibitory product (e.g., a reduction or elimination of isobutanol, isobutyric acid, isobutyraldehyde, and/or acetic acid production) in the propagation phase, an increase in the preconditioning of culture to inhibitory products (i.e., the culture can adjust to increasing levels of isobutanol as produced in production phase), a capability for the recombinant microorganism to continue growing resulting in an increase in biomass production in the production phase, an increase in butanol yield in the production phase, an increase in butanol productivity in the production phase, and/or a delay in the production of an inhibitory product at the beginning of the production phase (e.g., a delay in the production of butanol and/or isobutyric acid). An improved culture can also allow for increased operational flexibility (e.g., increased range of amount of cells to start fermentation process, increased scheduling flexibility for coordinating fermentation process). An increase in biomass production, butanol yield, butanol productivity, biomass yield, or a decrease in the amount of time in a propagation or production phase can be determined by measuring the indicated property or characteristic in recombinant microorganism cultures grown under adaptive conditions and comparing to the indicated property or characteristic in recombinant microorganism cultures grown under non-adaptive conditions or different adaptive conditions.

The term “capable of continuing to grow” as used herein refers to an increase in cell mass during fermentation or under production phases where butanol is being produced. Recombinant microorganism cultures can, for example, be able to grow independent of the process conditions in which the recombinant microorganism is subjected. By way of an example, for the processes described herein, the recombinant microorganism can be capable of growing under adaptive conditions in the butanol production phase.

The term “propagation phase” or “growth phase” as used herein refers to the process steps during which the recombinant microorganism (e.g., yeast) biomass is produced. These phases may include minimally activated or inactivated cultures. Such phases may also include adaptive conditions under which an increased activation of the culture occurs.

The term “production phase” as used herein refers to the fermentation or other process steps during which a desired fermentation product, including, but not limited to butanol, isobutanol, 1-butanol, 2-butanol, and/or 2-butanone, is produced.

The term “biomass” as used herein, in some instances, refers to the mass of the culture, e.g., the amount of recombinant microorganisms, typically provided in units of grams per liter (g/l) dry cell weight (dcw).

The term “biomass yield” as used herein refers to the amount of biomass produced per substrate consumed.

The term “fermentation product” as used herein refers to any desired product of interest, including lower alkyl alcohols, including, but not limited to, butanol, lactic acid, 3-hydroxy-propionic acid, acrylic acid, acetic acid, succinic acid, citric acid, fumaric acid, malic acid, itaconic acid, 1,3-propane-diol, ethylene, glycerol, isobutyrate, etc.

The term “lower alkyl alcohol” as used herein refers to any straight-chain or branched, saturated or unsaturated, alcohol molecule with 1-10 carbon atoms.

The term “butanol biosynthetic pathway” as used herein refers to the enzymatic pathway to produce 1-butanol, 2-butanol, or isobutanol.

The term “1-butanol biosynthetic pathway” refers to an enzymatic pathway to produce 1-butanol. A “1-butanol biosynthetic pathway” can refer to an enzyme pathway to produce 1-butanol from acetyl-coenzyme A (acetyl-CoA). For example, 1-butanol biosynthetic pathways are disclosed in U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2008/0182308 and International Publication No. WO 2007/041269, which are herein incorporated by reference in their entireties.

The term “2-butanol biosynthetic pathway” refers to an enzymatic pathway to produce 2-butanol. A “2-butanol biosynthetic pathway” can refer to an enzyme pathway to produce 2-butanol from pyruvate. For example, 2-butanol biosynthetic pathways are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 8,206,970, U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2007/0292927, International Publication Nos. WO 2007/130518 and WO 2007/130521, which are herein incorporated by reference in their entireties.

The term “2-butanone biosynthetic pathway” refers to an enzymatic pathway to produce 2-butanone. A “2-butanone biosynthetic pathway” can refer to an enzyme pathway to produce 2-butanone from pyruvate. For example, 2-butanone biosynthetic pathways are disclosed in U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2007/0292927, International Publication Nos. WO 2007/130518 and WO 2007/130521, which are herein incorporated by reference in their entireties.

The term “isobutanol biosynthetic pathway” refers to an enzymatic pathway to produce isobutanol. An “isobutanol biosynthetic pathway” can refer to an enzyme pathway to produce isobutanol from pyruvate. For example, isobutanol biosynthetic pathways are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,851,188, U.S. Application Publication No. 2007/0092957, and International Publication No. WO 2007/050671, which are herein incorporated by reference in their entireties. From time to time “isobutanol biosynthetic pathway” is used synonymously with “isobutanol production pathway.”

The term “propagation polypeptide” as used herein refers to polypeptides associated with the production of biomass, and polypeptides associated with the performance of an enzyme that is associated with the production of biomass.

The term “biocatalyst polypeptide” as used herein refers to polypeptides associated with the substrate to product conversions of an indicated biosynthetic pathway, for example, a butanol or 2-butanone biosynthetic pathway, and polypeptides associated with the propagation or performance of a biocatalyst that is associated with the indicated biosynthetic pathway, including, but not limited to, cell integrity polypeptides and propagation polypeptides. For example, a polypeptide that is a part of an NADPH generating pathway or a polypeptide that is part of a non-butanol NADH consuming product pathway may be biocatalyst polypeptides.

The term “biosynthetic pathway polypeptide” as used herein refers to polypeptides that catalyze substrate to product conversions of a recited biosynthetic pathway.

The term “cell integrity polypeptide” as used herein refers to polypeptides involved in cell integrity, including polypeptides required for constituting the cellular architecture.

The term “butanol” as used herein refers to the butanol isomers 1-butanol (1-BuOH), 2-butanol (2-BuOH), tert-butanol (t-BuOH), and/or isobutanol (iBuOH or i-BuOH, also known as 2-methyl-1-propanol), either individually or as mixtures thereof. From time to time, as used herein the terms “biobutanol” and “bio-produced butanol” may be used synonymously with “butanol.”

Uses for butanol can include, but are not limited to, fuels (e.g., biofuels), a fuel additive, an alcohol used for the production of esters that can be used as diesel or biodiesel fuel, as a chemical in the plastics industry, an ingredient in formulated products such as cosmetics, and a chemical intermediate. Butanol may also be used as a solvent for paints, coatings, varnishes, resins, gums, dyes, fats, waxes, resins, shellac, rubbers, and alkaloids.

As used herein, the term “bio-produced” means that the molecule (e.g., butanol) is produced from a renewable source (e.g., the molecule can be produced during a fermentation process from a renewable feedstock). Thus, for example, bio-produced isobutanol can be isobutanol produced by a fermentation process from a renewable feedstock. Molecules produced from a renewable source can further be defined by the ¹⁴C/¹²C isotope ratio. A ¹⁴C/¹²C isotope ratio in range of from 1:0 to greater than 0:1 indicates a bio-produced molecule, whereas a ratio of 0:1 indicates that the molecule is fossil derived.

A recombinant host cell comprising an “engineered alcohol production pathway” (such as an engineered butanol or isobutanol production pathway) refers to a host cell containing a modified pathway that produces alcohol in a manner different than that normally present in the host cell. Such differences include production of an alcohol not typically produced by the host cell, or increased or more efficient production.

The term “heterologous biosynthetic pathway” as used herein refers to an enzyme pathway to produce a product in which at least one of the enzymes is not endogenous to the host cell containing the biosynthetic pathway.

The terms “PDC-,” “PDC knockout,” or “PDC-KO” as used herein refer to a cell that has a genetic modification to inactivate or reduce expression of a gene encoding pyruvate decarboxylase (PDC) so that the cell substantially or completely lacks pyruvate decarboxylase enzyme activity. If the cell has more than one expressed (active) PDC gene, then each of the active PDC genes can be inactivated or have minimal expression thereby producing a PDC-cell.

The term “effective butanol productivity” as used herein refers to the total amount in grams of butanol produced per gram of cells.

The term “effective titer” as used herein, refers to the total amount of a particular alcohol (e.g., butanol) produced by fermentation per liter of fermentation medium. The total amount of butanol includes: (i) the amount of butanol in the fermentation medium; (ii) the amount of butanol recovered from the organic extractant; and (iii) the amount of butanol recovered from the gas phase, if gas stripping is used.

The term “effective rate” as used herein, refers to the total amount of butanol produced by fermentation per liter of fermentation medium per hour of fermentation.

The term “effective yield” as used herein, refers to the amount of butanol produced per unit of fermentable carbon substrate consumed by the biocatalyst.

The term “volumetric productivity” refers to the grams of butanol isomer produced per liter of fermentation media per unit time. The terms “volumetric productivity” and “Q_(p)” can be used interchangeably.

The term “specific productivity” refers to the grams of butanol isomer produced per gram of dry cell weight of cells per unit time. The terms “specific productivity” and “q_(p)” can be used interchangeably.

The term “maximum q_(p)” or “q_(p) max” as used herein refers to the maximum potential for a recombinant microorganism to produce a desired fermentation product per unit gram of dry cell weight (g dcw) of biomass per unit of time. A recombinant microorganism comprising an engineered butanol biosynthetic pathway can comprise a maximum q_(p). The maximum q_(p) for the recombinant microorganism can be calculated by methods known in the art. By way of an example, a maximum q_(p) for a recombinant microorganism can be determined during a fermentation process under the desired set of conditions. Samples of the fermentation culture at different time points are measured for levels of product (e.g., isobutanol) produced (g/L) and levels of biomass produced (g dcw/L) using analytical methods known in the art and described herein. q_(p) (g/g dcw/hr) at any point during the fermentation process is calculated as the net amount of product produced (g/L) during a time interval between two successive sample points divided by the average biomass level (g dcw/L) during the same time interval, and this value is divided by the time interval (h) over which the samples were taken. Calculated q_(p) is plotted as a function of fermentation time and the maximum value is designated as maximum q_(p).

The term “partially adapted culture” or “partially adapted cell culture” as used herein refers to a culture of recombinant microorganisms comprising an engineered butanol biosynthetic pathway, wherein the engineered butanol biosynthetic pathway is partially activated such that the q_(p) of the culture of recombinant microorganisms is less than the maximum q_(p) of the recombinant microorganism culture. By way of an example, the q_(p) of a partially adapted cell culture can be about 20% of the maximum q_(p) of the cell culture. Partial activation of the engineered butanol biosynthetic pathway can be the result of growing the recombinant microorganism culture under adaptive conditions, wherein the partial activation of the engineered butanol biosynthetic pathway can be controlled by at least one process condition. The at least one process condition can result in the differential activation of the engineered butanol biosynthetic pathway. By way of a non-limiting example, in glucose limited or glucose diluted conditions, the engineered butanol biosynthetic pathway of the cell culture can be inactivated or minimally activated, whereas in glucose excess conditions, the engineered butanol biosynthetic pathway can be completely or fully activated.

The term “growth rate” refers to the rate at which the microorganisms grow in the culture medium. The growth rate of the recombinant microorganisms can be monitored, for example, by measuring the optical density at 600 nanometers. The doubling time may be calculated from the logarithmic part of the growth curve and used as a measure of the growth rate.

The term “separation” as used herein is synonymous with “recovery” and refers to removing a chemical compound from an initial mixture to obtain the compound in greater purity or at a higher concentration than the purity or concentration of the compound in the initial mixture.

The term “extractant” as used herein refers to one or more organic solvents which can be used to extract butanol from a fermentation broth.

The term “aqueous phase,” as used herein, refers to the aqueous phase of a biphasic mixture obtained by contacting a fermentation broth with a water-immiscible organic extractant. In an embodiment of a process described herein that includes fermentative extraction, the term “fermentation broth” then specifically refers to the aqueous phase in biphasic fermentative extraction.

The term “organic phase,” as used herein, refers to the non-aqueous phase of a biphasic mixture obtained by contacting a fermentation broth with a water-immiscible organic extractant.

The term “carbon substrate” or “fermentable carbon substrate” refers to a carbon source capable of being metabolized by host organisms of the present invention and particularly carbon sources selected from the group consisting of monosaccharides, oligosaccharides, polysaccharides, and one-carbon substrates or mixtures thereof. Non-limiting examples of carbon substrates are provided herein and include, but are not limited to, monosaccharides, disaccharides, oligosaccharides, polysaccharides, ethanol, lactate, succinate, glycerol, carbon dioxide, methanol, glucose, fructose, lactose, sucrose, xylose, arabinose, dextrose, cellulose, methane, amino acids, or mixtures thereof.

“Fermentation broth” as used herein means the mixture of water, sugars (fermentable carbon sources), dissolved solids (if present), microorganisms producing alcohol, product alcohol and all other constituents of the material in which product alcohol is being made by the reaction of sugars to alcohol, water and carbon dioxide (CO₂) by the microorganisms present. From time to time, as used herein the term “fermentation medium,” “fermentation media,” and “fermented mixture” can be used synonymously with “fermentation broth.”

As used herein a “fermentor” refers to any container, containers, or apparatus that are used to ferment a substrate. A fermentor can contain a fermentation medium and microorganism capable of fermentation. The term “fermentation vessel” refers to the vessel in which the fermentation reaction is carried out whereby alcohol such as butanol is made from sugars. “Fermentor” can be used herein interchangeable with “fermentation vessel.”

“Feedstock” as used herein means a product containing a fermentable carbon source. Suitable feedstock include, but are not limited to, rye, wheat, corn, corn mash, cane, cane mash, sugar cane, barley, cellulosic material, lignocellulosic material, and mixtures thereof.

The term “aerobic conditions” as used herein means growth conditions in the presence of oxygen.

The term “microaerobic conditions” as used herein means growth conditions with low levels of oxygen (i.e., below normal atmospheric oxygen levels). For example, the oxygen level may be less than about 1% of air-saturation.

The term “anaerobic conditions” as used herein means growth conditions in the absence of oxygen. It will be understood that in many fermentation processes, an initial amount of oxygen is present at the onset of the process, but such oxygen is depleted over the course of the fermentation such that the majority of the process takes place in the absence of detectable oxygen.

The term “polynucleotide” is intended to encompass a singular nucleic acid as well as plural nucleic acids, and refers to a nucleic acid molecule or construct, e.g., messenger RNA (mRNA) or plasmid DNA (pDNA). A polynucleotide can contain the nucleotide sequence of the full-length cDNA sequence, or a fragment thereof, including the untranslated 5′ and 3′ sequences and the coding sequences. The polynucleotide can be composed of any polyribonucleotide or polydeoxyribonucleotide, which can be unmodified RNA or DNA or modified RNA or DNA. For example, polynucleotides can be composed of single- and double-stranded DNA, DNA that is a mixture of single- and double-stranded regions, single- and double-stranded RNA, and RNA that is mixture of single- and double-stranded regions, hybrid molecules comprising DNA and RNA that can be single-stranded or, more typically, double-stranded or a mixture of single- and double-stranded regions. “Polynucleotide” embraces chemically, enzymatically, or metabolically modified forms.

A polynucleotide sequence can be referred to as “isolated,” in which it has been removed from its native environment. For example, a heterologous polynucleotide encoding a polypeptide or polypeptide fragment having ALS activity contained in a vector is considered isolated for the purposes of the present invention. Further examples of an isolated polynucleotide include recombinant polynucleotides maintained in heterologous host cells or purified (partially or substantially) polynucleotides in solution. Isolated polynucleotides or nucleic acids according to the present invention further include such molecules produced synthetically. An isolated polynucleotide fragment in the form of a polymer of DNA can be comprised of one or more segments of cDNA, genomic DNA or synthetic DNA.”

The term “isolated nucleic acid molecule”, “isolated nucleic acid fragment” and “genetic construct” are used interchangeably and mean a polymer of RNA or DNA that is single or double-stranded, optionally containing synthetic, non-natural or altered nucleotide bases. An isolated nucleic acid fragment in the form of a polymer of DNA can be comprised of one or more segments of cDNA, genomic DNA or synthetic DNA.

The term “amino acid” refers to the basic chemical structural unit of a protein or polypeptide. The abbreviations in Table 1 are used herein to identify specific amino acids.

TABLE 1 Amino acids and abbreviations thereof. Three-Letter One-Letter Amino Acid Abbreviation Abbreviation Alanine Ala A Arginine Arg R Asparagine Asn N Aspartic acid Asp D Cysteine Cys C Glutamine Gln Q Glutamic acid Glu E Glycine Gly G Histidine His H Isoleucine Ile I Leucine Leu L Lysine Lys K Methionine Met M Phenylalanine Phe F Proline Pro P Serine Ser S Threonine Thr T Tryptophan Trp W Tyrosine Tyr Y Valine Val V

The term “gene” refers to a nucleic acid fragment that is capable of being expressed as a specific protein, optionally including regulatory sequences preceding (5′ non-coding sequences) and following (3′ non-coding sequences) the coding sequence. “Native gene” refers to a gene as found in nature with its own regulatory sequences. “Chimeric gene” refers to any gene that is not a native gene, comprising regulatory and coding sequences that are not found together in nature. Accordingly, a chimeric gene can comprise regulatory sequences and coding sequences that are derived from different sources, or regulatory sequences and coding sequences derived from the same source, but arranged in a manner different than that found in nature. “Endogenous gene” refers to a native gene in its natural location in the genome of a microorganism. A “foreign” gene refers to a gene not normally found in the host microorganism, but that is introduced into the host microorganism by gene transfer. Foreign genes can comprise native genes inserted into a non-native microorganism, or chimeric genes. A “transgene” is a gene that has been introduced into the genome by a transformation procedure.

As used herein, “native” refers to the form of a polynucleotide, gene, or polypeptide as found in nature with its own regulatory sequences, if present.

As used herein the term “coding sequence” or “coding region” refers to a DNA sequence that encodes for a specific amino acid sequence. A “coding region” or “open reading frame (ORF)” is a portion of nucleic acid which consists of codons translated into amino acids. Although a “stop codon” (TAG, TGA, or TAA) is not translated into an amino acid, it may be considered to be part of a coding region, if present, but any flanking sequences, for example, promoters, ribosome binding sites, transcriptional terminators, introns, 5′ and 3′ non-translated regions, and the like, are not part of a coding region.

“Suitable regulatory sequences” as used herein refers to nucleotide sequence located upstream (5′ non-coding sequences), within, or downstream (3′ non-coding sequences) of a coding sequence that influence the transcription, RNA processing or stability, or translation of the associated coding sequence. Regulatory sequences can include promoters, translation leader sequences, introns, polyadenylation recognition sequences, RNA processing sites, effector binding sites, and stem-loop structures.

The term “promoter” as used herein refers to a DNA sequence capable of controlling the expression of a coding sequence or functional RNA. In general, a coding sequence located 3′ to a promoter sequence. Promoters may be derived in their entirety from a native gene or be composed of different elements derived from different promoters found in nature, or even comprise synthetic DNA segments. It is understood by those skilled in the art that different promoters may direct the expression of a gene in different tissues or cell types, or at different stages of development, or in response to different environmental or physiological conditions. Promoters which cause a gene to be expressed in most cell types at most times are commonly referred to as “constitutive promoters.” It is further recognized that since in most cases the exact boundaries of regulatory sequences have not been completely defined, DNA fragments of different lengths may have identical promoter activity.

As used herein, “endogenous” refers to the native form of a polynucleotide, gene or polypeptide in its natural location in the organism or in the genome of an organism. “Endogenous polynucleotide” includes a native polynucleotide in its natural location in the genome of an organism. “Endogenous gene” includes a native gene in its natural location in the genome of an organism. “Endogenous polypeptide” includes a native polypeptide in its natural location in the organism transcribed and translated from a native polynucleotide or gene in its natural location in the genome of an organism.

The term “heterologous” when used in reference to a polynucleotide, a gene, or a polypeptide refers to a polynucleotide, gene, or polypeptide not normally found in the host organism. “Heterologous” also includes a native coding region, or portion thereof, that is reintroduced into the source organism in a form that is different from the corresponding native gene, e.g., not in its natural location in the organism's genome. The heterologous polynucleotide or gene can be introduced into the host organism by, e.g., gene transfer. A heterologous gene can include a native coding region with non-native regulatory regions that is reintroduced into the native host. For example, a heterologous gene can include a native coding region that is a portion of a chimeric gene including non-native regulatory regions that is reintroduced into the native host. “Heterologous polypeptide” includes a native polypeptide that is reintroduced into the source organism in a form that is different from the corresponding native polypeptide. A “heterologous” polypeptide or polynucleotide can also include an engineered polypeptide or polynucleotide that comprises a difference from the “native” polypeptide or polynucleotide, e.g., a point mutation within the endogenous polynucleotide can result in the production of a “heterologous” polypeptide. As used herein a “chimeric gene,” a “foreign gene,” and a “transgene,” can all be examples of “heterologous” genes.

A “transgene” is a gene that has been introduced into the genome by a transformation procedure.

The term “recombinant genetic expression element” refers to a nucleic acid fragment that expresses one or more specific proteins, including regulatory sequences preceding (5′ non-coding sequences) and following (3′ termination sequences) coding sequences for the proteins. A chimeric gene is a recombinant genetic expression element. The coding regions of an operon can form a recombinant genetic expression element, along with an operably linked promoter and termination region.

The term “expression” as used herein refers to the transcription and stable accumulation of sense (mRNA) or antisense RNA derived from the nucleic acid fragment of the invention. Expression can also refer to translation of mRNA into a polypeptide. “Differentially expressed” as used herein refers to the differential production of the mRNA transcribed from the gene or differential production of the protein product encoded by the gene depending on the environment of the host cell. A differentially expressed gene may be overexpressed or underexpressed as compared to the expression level under other conditions. In certain aspects, differential expression refers to a differential that is 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 10, or 20 times higher or lower than the expression level detected in the reference environment. The term “differentially expressed” also refers to nucleotide sequences in a cell which are expressed where silent or not expressed in a control environment or not expressed where expressed in the control cell.

The term “overexpression” as used herein refers to expression that is higher than endogenous expression of the same or related gene. A heterologous gene is overexpressed if its expression is higher than that of a comparable endogenous gene. The term overexpression refers to an increase in the level of nucleic acid or protein in a host cell. Thus, overexpression can result from increasing the level of transcription or translation of an endogenous sequence in a host cell or can result from the introduction of a heterologous sequence into a host cell. Overexpression can also result from increasing the stability of a nucleic acid or protein sequence.

As used herein the term “transformation” refers to the transfer of a nucleic acid fragment into the genome of a host microorganism, resulting in genetically stable inheritance. Host microorganisms containing the transformed nucleic acid fragments are referred to as “transgenic” or “recombinant” or “transformed” microorganisms.

The terms “plasmid,” “vector,” and “cassette” refer to an extra chromosomal element often carrying genes which are not part of the central metabolism of the cell, and usually in the form of circular double-stranded DNA fragments. Such elements can be autonomously replicating sequences, genome integrating sequences, phage or nucleotide sequences, linear or circular, of a single- or double-stranded DNA or RNA, derived from any source, in which a number of nucleotide sequences have been joined or recombined into a unique construction which is capable of introducing a promoter fragment and DNA sequence for a selected gene product along with appropriate 3′ untranslated sequence into a cell. “Transformation cassette” refers to a specific vector containing a foreign gene and having elements in addition to the foreign gene that facilitates transformation of a particular host cell. “Expression cassette” refers to a specific vector containing a foreign gene and having elements in addition to the foreign gene that allow for enhanced expression of that gene in a foreign host.

As used herein, the term “polypeptide” is intended to encompass a singular “polypeptide” as well as plural “polypeptides,” and refers to a molecule composed of monomers (amino acids) linearly linked by amide bonds (also known as peptide bonds). The term “polypeptide” refers to any chain or chains of two or more amino acids, and does not refer to a specific length of the product. Thus, peptides, dipeptides, tripeptides, oligopeptides, “protein,” “amino acid chain,” or any other term used to refer to a chain or chains of two or more amino acids, are included within the definition of “polypeptide,” and the term “polypeptide” can be used instead of, or interchangeably with any of these terms. A polypeptide can be derived from a natural biological source or produced by recombinant technology, but is not necessarily translated from a designated nucleic acid sequence. It can be generated in any manner, including by chemical synthesis.

By an “isolated” polypeptide or a fragment, variant, or derivative thereof is intended a polypeptide that is not in its natural milieu. No particular level of purification is required. For example, an isolated polypeptide can be removed from its native or natural environment. Recombinantly produced polypeptides and proteins expressed in host cells are considered isolated for purposed of the invention, as are native or recombinant polypeptides which have been separated, fractionated, or partially or substantially purified by any suitable technique.

As used herein, the terms “variant” and “mutant” are synonymous and refer to a polypeptide differing from a specifically recited polypeptide by one or more amino acid insertions, deletions, mutations, and substitutions, created using, e.g., recombinant DNA techniques, such as mutagenesis. Guidance in determining which amino acid residues can be replaced, added, or deleted without abolishing activities of interest, can be found by comparing the sequence of the particular polypeptide with that of homologous polypeptides, e.g., yeast or bacterial, and minimizing the number of amino acid sequence changes made in regions of high homology (conserved regions) or by replacing amino acids with consensus sequences.

Amino acid “substitutions” can be the result of replacing one amino acid with another amino acid having similar structural and/or chemical properties, i.e., conservative amino acid replacements, or they can be the result of replacing one amino acid with an amino acid having different structural and/or chemical properties, i.e., non-conservative amino acid replacements. “Conservative” amino acid substitutions can be made on the basis of similarity in polarity, charge, solubility, hydrophobicity, hydrophilicity, or the amphipathic nature of the residues involved. For example, nonpolar (hydrophobic) amino acids include alanine, leucine, isoleucine, valine, proline, phenylalanine, tryptophan, and methionine; polar neutral amino acids include glycine, serine, threonine, cysteine, tyrosine, asparagine, and glutamine; positively charged (basic) amino acids include arginine, lysine, and histidine; and negatively charged (acidic) amino acids include aspartic acid and glutamic acid. Alternatively, “non-conservative” amino acid substitutions can be made by selecting the differences in polarity, charge, solubility, hydrophobicity, hydrophilicity, or the amphipathic nature of any of these amino acids. “Insertions” or “deletions” can be within the range of variation as structurally or functionally tolerated by the recombinant proteins. The variation allowed can be experimentally determined by systematically making insertions, deletions, or substitutions of amino acids in a polypeptide molecule using recombinant DNA techniques and assaying the resulting recombinant variants for activity.

“Engineered polypeptide” as used herein refers to a polypeptide that is synthetic, i.e., differing in some manner from a polypeptide found in nature.

Alternatively, recombinant polynucleotide variants encoding these same or similar polypeptides can be synthesized or selected by making use of the “redundancy” in the genetic code. Various codon substitutions, such as silent changes which produce various restriction sites, can be introduced to optimize cloning into a plasmid or viral vector for expression. Mutations in the polynucleotide sequence can be reflected in the polypeptide or domains of other peptides added to the polypeptide to modify the properties of any part of the polypeptide. For example, mutations can be used to reduce or eliminate expression of a target protein and include, but are not limited to, deletion of the entire gene or a portion of the gene, inserting a DNA fragment into the gene (in either the promoter or coding region) so that the protein is not expressed or expressed at lower levels, introducing a mutation into the coding region which adds a stop codon or frame shift such that a functional protein is not expressed, and introducing one or more mutations into the coding region to alter amino acids so that a non-functional or a less enzymatically active protein is expressed.

The terms “active variant,” “active fragment,” “active derivative,” and “analog” refer to polynucleotides of the present invention and include any polynucleotides that encode polypeptides used in the invention that retain their respective enzymatic activities or structure. Variants of polynucleotides of the present invention include polynucleotides with altered nucleotide sequences due to base pair substitutions, deletions, and/or insertions. Variants may occur naturally or be non-naturally occurring. Non-naturally occurring variants may be produced using art-known mutagenesis techniques. Derivatives of polynucleotides of the present invention are polynucleotides which have been altered so that the polypeptides they encode exhibit additional features not found on the native polypeptide. Examples include polynucleotides that encode fusion proteins. Variant polynucleotides may also be referred to herein as “polynucleotide analogs.” As used herein a “derivative” of a polynucleotide refers to a subject polynucleotide having one or more nucleotides chemically derivatized by reaction of a functional side group. Also included as “derivatives” are those polynucleotides which contain one or more naturally occurring nucleotide derivatives. For example, 3-methylcytidine may be substituted for cytosine; ribothymidine may be substituted for thymidine; and N4-acetylcytidine may be substituted for cytosine.

A “fragment” when used in reference to a promoter sequence is a unique portion of the promoter nucleic acid sequence or the nucleic acid sequence encoding the biocatalyst polypeptide used in the invention which is identical in sequence to but shorter in length than the parent nucleic acid sequence. For example, a fragment may comprise from 5 to 1000 contiguous nucleotides. A fragment used as a probe, primer, or for other purposes, may be at least 5, 10, 15, 16, 20, 25, 30, 40, 50, 60, 75, 100, 150, 250 or at least 500 contiguous nucleotides. A fragment may comprise up to the entire length of the defined sequence, minus one nucleotide or amino acid. Fragments may be preferentially selected from certain regions of a molecule. For example, a polynucleotide fragment may comprise a certain length of contiguous nucleotides selected from the first 100 or 200 nucleotides of a polynucleotide as shown in a certain defined sequence. Clearly these lengths are exemplary, and any length that is supported by the specification, including the Sequence Listing, tables, and figures, may be encompassed by the present embodiments.

As used herein the term “codon degeneracy” refers to the nature in the genetic code permitting variation of the nucleotide sequence without affecting the amino acid sequence of an encoded polypeptide. The skilled artisan is well aware of the “codon-bias” exhibited by a specific host cell in usage of nucleotide codons to specify a given amino acid. Therefore, when synthesizing a gene for improved expression in a host cell, it is desirable to design the gene such that its frequency of codon usage approaches the frequency of preferred codon usage of the host cell.

As used herein the term “codon optimized coding region” means a nucleic acid coding region that has been adapted for expression in the cells of a given organism by replacing at least one, or more than one, or a significant number, of codons with one or more codons that are more frequently used in the genes of that organism.

Deviations in the nucleotide sequence that comprise the codons encoding the amino acids of any polypeptide chain allow for variations in the sequence coding for the gene. Since each codon consists of three nucleotides, and the nucleotides comprising DNA are restricted to four specific bases, there are 64 possible combinations of nucleotides, 61 of which encode amino acids (the remaining three codons encode signals ending translation). The “genetic code” which shows which codons encode which amino acids is reproduced herein as Table 2A. As a result, many amino acids are designated by more than one codon. For example, the amino acids alanine and proline are coded for by four triplets, serine and arginine by six, whereas tryptophan and methionine are coded by just one triplet. This degeneracy allows for DNA base composition to vary over a wide range without altering the amino acid sequence of the proteins encoded by the DNA.

TABLE 2A The Standard Genetic Code T C A G T TTT Phe (F) TCT Ser (S) TAT Tyr (Y) TGT Cys (C) TTC Phe (F) TCC Ser (S) TAC Tyr (Y) TGC TTA Leu (L) TCA Ser (S) TAA Ter TGA Ter TTG Leu (L) TCG Ser (S) TAG Ter TGG Trp (W) C CTT Leu (L) CCT Pro (P) CAT His (H) CGT Arg (R) CTC Leu (L) CCC Pro (P) CAC His (H) CGC Arg (R) CTA Leu (L) CCA Pro (P) CAA Gln (Q) CGA Arg (R) CTG Leu (L) CCG Pro (P) CAG Gln (Q) CGG Arg (R) A ATT Ile (I) ACT Thr (T) AAT Asn (N) AGT Ser (S) ATC Ile (I) ACC Thr (T) ACC Asn (N) AGC Ser (S) ATA Ile (I) ACA Thr (T) AAA Lys (K) AGA Arg (R) ATG Met (M) ACG Thr (T) AAG Lys (K) AGG Arg (R) G GTT Val (V) GCT Ala (A) GAT Asp (D) GGT Gly (G) GTC Val (V) GCC Ala (A) GAC Asp (D) GGC Gly (G) GTA Val (V) GCA Ala (A) GAA Glu (E) GGA Gly (G) GTG Val (V) GCG Ala (A) GAG Glu (E) GGG Gly (G)

Many organisms display a bias for use of particular codons to code for insertion of a particular amino acid in a growing peptide chain. Codon preference or codon bias, differences in codon usage between organisms, is afforded by degeneracy of the genetic code, and is well documented among many organisms. Codon bias often correlates with the efficiency of translation of messenger RNA (mRNA), which is in turn believed to be dependent on, inter alia, the properties of the codons being translated and the availability of particular transfer RNA (tRNA) molecules. The predominance of selected tRNAs in a cell is generally a reflection of the codons used most frequently in peptide synthesis. Accordingly, genes can be tailored for optimal gene expression in a given organism based on codon optimization.

Given the large number of gene sequences available for a wide variety of animal, plant and microbial species, it is possible to calculate the relative frequencies of codon usage. Codon usage tables are readily available, for example, at the “Codon Usage Database” available at http://www.kazusa.or.jp/codon/ (visited Mar. 20, 2008), and these tables can be adapted in a number of ways. See Nakamura, Y., et al. Nucl. Acids Res. 28:292 (2000). Codon usage tables for yeast, calculated from GenBank Release 128.0 [15 Feb. 2002], are reproduced below as Table 2B. This table uses mRNA nomenclature, and so instead of thymine (T) which is found in DNA, the tables use uracil (U) which is found in RNA. The Table has been adapted so that frequencies are calculated for each amino acid, rather than for all 64 codons.

TABLE 2B Codon Usage Table for Saccharomyces cerevisiae Genes Frequency per Amino Acid Codon Number thousand Phe UUU 170666 26.1 Phe UUC 120510 18.4 Leu UUA 170884 26.2 Leu UUG 177573 27.2 Leu CUU  80076 12.3 Leu CUC  35545 5.4 Leu CUA  87619 13.4 Leu CUG  68494 10.5 Ile AUU 196893 30.1 Ile AUC 112176 17.2 Ile AUA 116254 17.8 Met AUG 136805 20.9 Val GUU 144243 22.1 Val GUC  76947 11.8 Val GUA  76927 11.8 Val GUG  70337 10.8 Ser UCU 153557 23.5 Ser UCC  92923 14.2 Ser UCA 122028 18.7 Ser UCG  55951 8.6 Ser AGU  92466 14.2 Ser AGC  63726 9.8 Pro CCU  88263 13.5 Pro CCC  44309 6.8 Pro CCA 119641 18.3 Pro CCG  34597 5.3 Thr ACU 132522 20.3 Thr ACC  83207 12.7 Thr ACA 116084 17.8 Thr ACG  52045 8.0 Ala GCU 138358 21.2 Ala GCC  82357 12.6 Ala GCA 105910 16.2 Ala GCG  40358 6.2 Tyr UAU 122728 18.8 Tyr UAC  96596 14.8 His CAU  89007 13.6 His CAC  50785 7.8 Gln CAA 178251 27.3 Gln CAG  79121 12.1 Asn AAU 233124 35.7 Asn AAC 162199 24.8 Lys AAA 273618 41.9 Lys AAG 201361 30.8 Asp GAU 245641 37.6 Asp GAC 132048 20.2 Glu GAA 297944 45.6 Glu GAG 125717 19.2 Cys UGU  52903 8.1 Cys UGC  31095 4.8 Trp UGG  67789 10.4 Arg CGU  41791 6.4 Arg CGC  16993 2.6 Arg CGA  19562 3.0 Arg CGG  11351 1.7 Arg AGA 139081 21.3 Arg AGG  60289 9.2 Gly GGU 156109 23.9 Gly GGC  63903 9.8 Gly GGA  71216 10.9 Gly GGG  39359 6.0 Stop UAA   6913 1.1 Stop UAG   3312 0.5 Stop UGA   4447 0.7

By utilizing this or similar tables, one of ordinary skill in the art can apply the frequencies to any given polypeptide sequence, and produce a nucleic acid fragment of a codon-optimized coding region which encodes the polypeptide, but which uses codons optimal for a given species.

Randomly assigning codons at an optimized frequency to encode a given polypeptide sequence can be done manually by calculating codon frequencies for each amino acid, and then assigning the codons to the polypeptide sequence randomly. Additionally, various algorithms and computer software programs are readily available to those of ordinary skill in the art. For example, the “EditSeq” function in the Lasergene Package, available from DNAstar, Inc., Madison, Wis., the backtranslation function in the VectorNTI Suite, available from InforMax, Inc., Bethesda, Md., and the “backtranslate” function in the GCG—Wisconsin Package, available from Accelrys, Inc., San Diego, Calif. In addition, various resources are publicly available to codon-optimize coding region sequences, e.g., the “backtranslation” function at http://www.entelechon.com/bioinformatics/backtranslation.php?lang=eng (visited Apr. 15, 2008) and the “backtranseq” function available at http://bioinfo.pbi.nrc.ca:8090/EMBOSS/index.html (visited Jul. 9, 2002). Constructing a rudimentary algorithm to assign codons based on a given frequency can also easily be accomplished with basic mathematical functions by one of ordinary skill in the art.

Codon-optimized coding regions can be designed by various methods known to those skilled in the art including software packages such as “synthetic gene designer” (userpages.umbc.edu/˜vyug1/codon/sgd/, visited Mar. 19, 2012).).

Improved Culture of Recombinant Microorganisms

Growth of a recombinant microorganism comprising an engineered butanol biosynthetic pathway (e.g., a butanologen) can occur in different phases of a fermentation process (e.g., 1) a growth phase; 2) a propagation phase; and 3) a production phase). Growth of the butanologen is critical for the production of butanol. The three phases of the fermentation process have different operating conditions (described in Table 3), which can result in different physiological states for the butanologen. Pathway leakage and accumulation of inhibitory intermediates can limit the growth rate and the cell density of the butanologen at each phase. Intricately controlling the genetics of the butanologen and the fermentation processes can allow for increased biomass production; increased butanol yield; increased butanol productivity; increased biomass yield; increased preconditioning of the butanologen; a reduction in the amount of time for the fermentation; reduction, elimination, or delay of production of inhibitory products; and the economical production of butanol.

TABLE 3 Operating conditions of different phases of fermentation process Growth Phase Propagation Phase Production Phase Glucose Level Low/High Medium/High High Respiratory Low Medium Medium/high quotient (RQ) Oxygen uptake High Medium 0-Low rate (OUR) Pathway Inter- Low Medium Medium-High mediate Levels

This invention is directed to processes for producing an improved culture of cells comprising an engineered butanol biosynthetic pathway. Processes for producing an improved culture of cells comprising an engineered butanol biosynthetic pathway can comprise (a) providing a cell culture of recombinant microorganisms comprising an engineered butanol biosynthetic pathway, wherein said engineered butanol biosynthetic pathway is minimally or not activated; and (b) growing the culture of recombinant microorganisms under adaptive conditions whereby pathway activation is increased to produce an improved cell culture and whereby said improved cell culture is capable of continuing to grow in fermentation. Production of butanol via the increased activation of the engineered butanol biosynthetic pathway is affected by the adaptive conditions in which the cell culture is grown. The adaptive conditions, i.e., the process conditions, can allow for the differential activation of the butanol biosynthetic pathway, wherein the activation of the butanol biosynthetic pathway can be controlled by genetic means (e.g., promoter sequences) or non-genetic means (e.g., small molecules, chemical technology, antisense technology) such that the pathway is minimally activated or inactivated under one set of process conditions and substantially or completely activated under a second set of process conditions. Examples of controlling the expression of the butanol biosynthetic pathway can be found in U.S. application Ser. No. 13/730,742, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

Also provided herein are processes for the production of a partially adapted cell culture. The processes comprise (a) providing a cell culture of recombinant microorganisms comprising an engineered butanol biosynthetic pathway, wherein the culture has a maximum q_(p), wherein production of butanol via the engineered butanol biosynthetic pathway is affected by adaptive conditions, and wherein the culture is provided at a q_(p) at least about 0.01% of the maximum q_(p), and (b) growing the culture in a propagation phase of a fermentation process, wherein the propagation phase is characterized by a first set of adaptive conditions, and wherein the culture grows for at least one generation such that the q_(p) increases to at least 20% of the maximum q_(p), whereby a partially adapted cell culture is produced. Optionally, the processes further comprise (c) providing the partially adapted cell culture in a production phase of a fermentation process, wherein the production phase is characterized by a second set of adaptive conditions, and wherein the q_(p) of the partially adapted cell culture increases to at least about 50% of the maximum q_(p) in the production phase.

In certain embodiments, the processes comprise (a) providing a cell culture of recombinant microorganisms comprising an engineered butanol biosynthetic pathway, wherein the culture has a maximum q_(p), wherein production of butanol via the engineered butanol biosynthetic pathway is affected by adaptive conditions, and wherein the culture is provided at a q_(p) at least about 0.01% of the maximum q_(p); (b) growing the culture in a propagation phase of a fermentation process, wherein the propagation phase is characterized by a first set of adaptive conditions, and wherein the culture grows for at least one generation such that the q_(p) increases to at least 20% of the maximum q_(p), whereby a partially adapted cell culture is produced; and (c) growing the partially adapted cell culture in a production phase of a fermentation process, wherein the production phase is characterized by a second set of adaptive conditions, and wherein the culture grows for at least one generation such that the q_(p) of the culture increases to at least about 50% of the maximum q_(p).

In certain embodiments the minimally activated or inactivated cell culture is provided at a cell density of at least about 0.1 g/L, at least about 0.5 g/L, at least about 1 g/L, at least about 2 g/L, at least about 4 g/L, or at least about 8 g/L. Optionally, the minimally activated or inactivated cell culture is provided at a cell density of about 0.5 g/L to about 4 g/L; about 0.5 g/L to about 3 g/L; about 0.5 g/L to about 2 g/L; about 0.5 g/L to about 1 g/L; about 1 g/L to about 4 g/L; about 1 g/L to about 3 g/L; about 1 g/L to about 2 g/L; about 2 g/L to about 4 g/L; about 2 g/L to about 3 g/L; or about 3 g/L to about 4 g/L or any value in between.

In certain embodiments, the minimally activated or inactivated cell culture is provided at a q_(p) of about 0.01% to about 10% of the maximum q_(p); about 0.01% to about 5% of the maximum q_(p); about 0.01% to about 4% of the maximum q_(p); about 0.01% to about 3% of the maximum q_(p); about 0.01% to about 2% of the maximum q_(p); about 0.01% to about 1% of the maximum q_(p); about 1% to about 10% of the maximum q_(p); about 1% to about 5% of the maximum q_(p); about 1% to about 4% of the maximum q_(p); about 1% to about 3% of the maximum q_(p); about 1% to about 2% of the maximum q_(p); about 2.5% to about 10% of the maximum q_(p); about 2.5% to about 5% of the maximum q_(p); or about 5% to about 10% of the maximum q_(p), or any value in between.

In certain embodiments, the minimally activated culture is provided at a q_(p) of about 0.01 grams per gram of dry cell weight per hour (g/g dcw/hr) to about 0.1 g/g dcw/hr; a q_(p) of about 0.01 g/g dcw/hr to about 0.08 g/g dcw/hr; a q_(p) of about 0.01 g/g dcw/hr to about 0.05 g/g dcw/hr; a q_(p) of about 0.01 g/g dcw/hr to about 0.03 g/g dcw/hr; a q_(p) of about 0.02 g/g dcw/hr to about 0.08 g/g dcw/hr; a q_(p) of about 0.02 g/g dcw/hr to about 0.04 g/g dcw/hr; a q_(p) of about 0.04 g/g dcw/hr to about 0.08 g/g dcw/hr; a q_(p) of about 0.05 g/g dcw/hr to about 0.10 g/g dcw/hr, or any value in between.

In certain embodiments, the inactivated culture is provided at a q_(p) of about 0.0 g/g dcw/hr.

In certain embodiments, growing the culture under adaptive conditions increases pathway activation to produce an improved cell culture such that the q_(p) increases to about 20% to about 50% of the maximum q_(p); about 20% to about 40% of the maximum q_(p); about 20% to about 30% of the maximum q_(p); about 30% to about 50% of the maximum q_(p); about 30% to about 40% of the maximum q_(p); or about 40% to about 50% of the maximum q_(p), or any value in between. In certain embodiments, growing the culture under adaptive conditions increases the pathway activation to produce an improved cell culture such that the q_(p) increases to at least about 20% of the maximum q_(p); at least about 30% of the maximum q_(p); at least about 40% of the maximum q_(p); or at least about 50% of the maximum q_(p). In certain embodiments, the q_(p) increases to these levels in the propagation phase.

In certain embodiments, growing the culture under adaptive conditions increases pathway activation to produce an improved cell culture such that the q_(p) increases to about 0.10 g/g dcw/hr to about 0.50 g/g dcw/hr; about 0.20 g/g dcw/hr to about 0.50 g/g dcw/hr; about 0.20 g/g dcw/hr to about 0.40 g/g dcw/hr; about 0.20 g/g dcw/hr to about 0.30 g/g dcw/hr; about 0.30 g/g dcw/hr to about 0.50 g/g dcw/hr; about 0.40 g/g dcw/hr to about 0.50 g/g dcw/hr, or any value in between. In certain embodiments, growing the culture under adaptive conditions increases pathway activation to produce an improved cell culture such that the q_(p) increases to at least about 0.20 g/g dcw/hr; at least about 0.30 g/g dcw/hr; at least about 0.40 g/g dcw/hr; or at least about 0.50 g/g dcw/hr. In certain embodiments, the q_(p) increases in the propagation phase.

In certain embodiments, the improved cell culture is characterized by at least one of an increase in biomass production, a reduction in the amount of time for the fermentation, a reduction or elimination of the production of an inhibitory product, an increase in butanol yield, an increase in butanol productivity, an increase in biomass yield, an increase in preconditioning of the recombinant microorganism, or a delay in the production of an inhibitory product.

In certain embodiments, the growing the culture under adaptive conditions to produce an improved culture increases the biomass production of the culture such that the culture is capable of growing for at least one generation, at least two generations, at least three generations, at least four generations, at least five generations, or at least six generations in the fermentation. Optionally, the culture grows for at least one generation to at least eight generations, at least one to at least six generations, at least one generation to at least four generations, at least one generation to at least two generations, at least two generations to at least six generations, at least two generations to at least four generations, or at least four generations to at least six generations in the fermentation. The culture can grow in the propagation phase, the production phase, or both the propagation and production phases.

In certain embodiments, growing the culture under adaptive conditions increases the biomass production of the culture to a cell density of about 5 g/L to about 15 g/L; about 5 g/L to about 10 g/L; about 5 g/L to about 8 g/L; about 5 g/L to about 6 g/L; or about 8 g/L to about 10 g/L, or any value in between.

The improved cell culture (e.g., a partially adapted cell culture) can be provided to a production phase of the fermentation, wherein the q_(p) at the start of the production phase is the same as the q_(p) at the end of the propagation phase. During the production phase, the q_(p) of the partially adapted cell culture can increase to the maximum q_(p) for the recombinant microorganism. In certain embodiments, the q_(p) increases to at least about 50% of the maximum q_(p); at least about 75% of the maximum q_(p); at least about 80% of the maximum q_(p); at least about 85% of the maximum q_(p); at least about 90% of the maximum q_(p); at least about 95% of the maximum q_(p); or at least about 99% of the maximum q_(p). In certain embodiments, the q_(p) increases to these levels in the production phase.

In certain embodiments, growing the culture under adaptive conditions increases pathway activation to produce an improved cell culture such that the q_(p) increases to at least about 0.50 g/gdcw/hr; at least about 0.60 g/g dcw/hr; at least about 0.70 g/g dcw/hr; at least about 0.80 g/g dcw/hr; or at least about 0.85 g/g dcw/hr. In certain embodiments, the q_(p) increases to these levels in the production phase.

In certain embodiments, growing the culture under adaptive conditions results in a cell culture with an activation ratio of greater than 1; at least about 10; at least about 20; at least about 30; at least about 40; at least about 50; at least about 60; at least about 70; at least about 80; at least about 90; least about 100, or at least about 150. In certain embodiments, growing the culture under adaptive conditions results in an activation ratio of great than 1 to about 150; greater than 1 to about 50; greater than 1 to about 25; greater than 1 to about 10; about 10 to about 150; about 10 to about 100; about 10 to about 50; about 25 to about 100; about 25 to about 50; or about 50 to about 100, or any value in between.

In certain embodiments, the improved culture results in a reduction or elimination of an inhibitory product in the propagation phase or a delay in the accumulation of an inhibitory product in the production phase. Optionally the inhibitory product is butanol. Optionally, the butanol concentration in the propagation phase can be about 0 g/L to about 10 g/L; about 0 g/L to about 5 g/L; about 0 g/L to about 2.5 g/L; about 2 g/L to about 10 g/L; about 2 g/L to about 5 g/L; about 4 g/L to about 10 g/L; about 4 g/L to about 5 g/L, or any value in between. In certain embodiments, the butanol concentration in the production phase can be about 25 g/L to about 200 g/L; about 25 g/L to about 150 g/L; about 50 g/L to about 150 g/L; about 75 g/L to about 150 g/L; about 100 g/L to about 150 g/L; about 50 g/L to about 100 g/L; about 60 g/L to about 100 g/L; or about 75 g/L to about 100 g/L, or any value in between. In certain embodiments, the butanol concentration in the production phase can be at least about 25 g/L, at least about 100 g/L; at least about 150 g/L, or at least about 200 g/L.

In certain embodiments, the improved culture results in a reduction, elimination, or delay in production of the inhibitory product isobutyric acid. Optionally, the isobutyric acid concentration can be about 0 g/L to about 4 g/L; about 0 g/L to about 3 g/L; about 0 g/L to about 2.5 g/L; about 0 g/L to about 1.5 g/L; about 1 g/L to about 4 g/L; about 1 g/L to about 2.5 g/L; or about 1 g/L to about 2 g/L, or any value in between.

The processes provided herein involve protocols to control the butanol pathway flux by utilizing adaptive conditions to control activation of the engineered butanol biosynthetic pathway during the fermentation process. By way of an example, a recombinant microorganism comprising a butanol biosynthetic pathway which is differentially activated based on the concentration of glucose in the fermentation medium can have a butanol biosynthetic pathway that is inactivated or minimally activated in the presence of low glucose levels and is substantially or completely activated in the presence of excess glucose levels. Cultures of recombinant microorganisms with the butanol pathway inactivated or minimally activated (e.g., having a q_(p) at or near 0% of the maximum q_(p)) can be provided at a high cell density for the fermentation process such that a desired biomass concentration can be achieved faster. Since the cell densities of the cultures are high when provided to the propagation tank, the residual glucose levels during the propagation phase can be reduced quickly, thus exposing the cultures to relatively low glucose concentrations during the propagation phase. Under these conditions, the culture may have enough time to partially activate the butanol biosynthetic pathway, thus producing a partially adapted cell culture. The partially adapted cells can be provided to a production tank, wherein the residual glucose concentration is high. As the pathway is slightly or partially active, it can allow for increased growth (e.g., increased biomass production); reduced or delayed production of an inhibitory product; increased biomass yield; increased butanol concentrations; increased butanol productivity; and consequently high volumetric titers of butanol.

Thus, processes for producing improved cell cultures (e.g., partially adapted cell cultures) can provide advantages to the fermentation process. Examples of process improvements and/or advantages can include, but are not limited to, an increase in biomass production, an increase in biomass yield, a reduction in the amount of time for the fermentation process (e.g., a reduction in the amount of time for propagation, for production, or for both propagation and production phases), a reduction or elimination of inhibitory products produced (e.g., a reduction or elimination of isobutanol, isobutyric acid, isobutyraldehyde, and/or acetic acid production) in the propagation phase, an increase in the preconditioning of the culture to inhibitory products (e.g., with increased biomass production and a reduction/delay in the production of inhibitory products, the culture can become preconditioned to slightly increasing levels of inhibitory products produced in the fermentation process as pathway activation occurs), a capability for the culture to continue growing resulting in an increase in biomass production in the production phase, an increase in butanol yield in the production phase, an increase in butanol productivity in the production phase, an increase in butanol concentration in the production phase, and/or a delay in the production of inhibitory products at the beginning of the production phase (e.g., a delay in the production of butanol and/or isobutyric acid). The delay in the production of isobutanol can allow for the increased growth/biomass production in the production phase. An additional process improvement can include increased operational flexibility (e.g., increased range of amount of cells to start fermentation process, increased scheduling flexibility for coordinating fermentation process).

Adaptive Conditions

Activation and/or inactivation of the engineered butanol biosynthetic pathway can, for example, be controlled by adaptive conditions (e.g., the process conditions) in which the cell culture is grown in each phase of the fermentation. Differences in the adaptive conditions can, for example, lead to the differential activation of the engineered butanol biosynthetic pathway such that the pathway can be inactivated or minimally activated at the start of the fermentation, and the pathway activation is increased due to adaptive conditions such that the pathway is substantially or completely activated during the fermentation process. In some embodiments, differential activation of the engineered butanol biosynthetic pathway can be controlled by promoter sequences controlling the expression of the enzymes required for the specific substrate to product conversions of the engineered butanol biosynthetic pathway. By way of an example, a glucose sensitive or oxygen sensitive promoter can be used to control an enzyme (e.g., acetolactate synthase) required for a substrate to product conversion in the engineered butanol biosynthetic pathway. In the absence of glucose and/or oxygen, the enzyme is not expressed or is not active, whereas in the presence of glucose and/or oxygen, the enzyme is expressed or is active. In some embodiments, differential activation of the engineered butanol biosynthetic pathway can be controlled by components of the fermentation media (e.g., a biochemical or chemical activator). In certain embodiments, differential activation of the engineered butanol biosynthetic pathway is controlled by the process conditions in which the recombinant microorganism culture is exposed.

In certain embodiments, the adaptive condition (i.e., process condition) is selected from at least one of a source of carbon substrate, a dissolved oxygen concentration, a temperature, a pH, a substrate (e.g., glucose) concentration, a butanol concentration, a butanol metabolite concentration, a 2-butanone concentration, or a component to the fermentation media (e.g., a biochemical or chemical activator).

In certain embodiments, differential activation of the engineered butanol biosynthetic pathway can be controlled by the source of the carbon substrate in the fermentation medium. By way of an example, the engineered butanol biosynthetic pathway can be inactivated or activated based on the presence of a fermentable carbon substrate selected from the group consisting of monosaccharides, oligosaccharides, polysaccharides, fatty acids, and mixtures thereof.

In certain embodiments, differential activation of the engineered butanol biosynthetic pathway can be controlled by the concentration of oxygen in the fermentation medium. A distinguishing characteristic between the propagation and production stages is the presence of high (e.g., greater than about 5%) dissolved oxygen concentration during the propagation phase, and low to no (e.g., less than about 5% or less than about 3% or about 0%) dissolved oxygen concentration during the production phase. Thus, in certain embodiments, “high” (e.g., aerobic conditions) vs. “low to none” (e.g., microaerobic to anaerobic conditions) can result in the differential activation of biocatalyst polypeptides of interest in the propagation vs. the production phases of the fermentation. By way of an example, the engineered butanol biosynthetic pathway can be inactive or partially activated in aerobic conditions in the propagation phase and consequently can be substantially or completely activated when pitched into microaerobic to anaerobic conditions in the production phase of the fermentation.

Optionally, the first set of adaptive conditions (e.g., process conditions) can comprise microaerobic to aerobic conditions. Optionally, the first set of adaptive conditions can be for the propagation phase of the fermentation. Microaerobic to aerobic conditions can be characterized by a specific oxygen uptake rate, a carbon dioxide evolution rate, or a respiratory quotient (RQ).

Specific carbon dioxide evolution rate (Sp. CER, millimoles/g/hr) and specific oxygen uptake rate (Sp. OUR, millimoles/g/hr) can be calculated by measuring flow rate, inlet and exhaust gas composition of air (CO₂, O₂, etc.), using, for example, mass spectrometry and/or cell density measurements. Specific carbon dioxide evolution rate is the ratio of carbon dioxide produced (air flow rate multiplied by difference between outlet and inlet carbon dioxide concentration) to cell density per unit time. Specific oxygen uptake rate is the ratio of oxygen consumed (air flow rate multiplied by difference between inlet and outlet oxygen concentration) to cell density per unit time. Respiratory quotient (RQ) is ratio of CER and OUR. Only the inlet and outlet gas composition from mass spectrometry are required to calculate RQ for a given constant air flow rate. RQ can be used as a control variable that couples the oxygen uptake rate with the carbon flux through the bioreactor system. RQ is intrinsically independent of scale. RQ can be measured, for example, using exhaust gas analysis.

In some embodiments, the Sp. OUR during a propagation phase is about 0.5 to about 5, about 0.5 to about 4, about 0.5 to about 3, about 0.5 to about 2, about 0.5 to about 1, about 1 to about 5, about 1 to about 4, about 1 to about 3, about 1 to about 3, about 2 to about 5, about 2 to about 4, about 2 to about 3, about 3 to about 5, about 3 to about 4, or about 4 to about 5 millimoles per grams of cell per hour, or any value in between.

In some embodiments, the Sp. CER during a propagation phase is about 1 to about 10, about 1 to about 7, about 1 to about 5, about 1 to about 3, about 1 to about 2, about 3 to about 10, about 3 to about 7, about 3 to about 5, about 5 to about 10, about 5 to about 8, about 5 to about 6, or about 7 to about 10 millimoles per grams of cell per hour, or any value in between.

In some embodiments, the RQ during a propagation phase is about 1 (aerobic) to about 10 (microaerobic), about 1 to about 7.5, about 1 to about 5, about 1 to about 2.5, about 2.5 to about 10, about 2.5 to about 7.5, about 2.5 to about 5, about 5 to about 10, about 5 to about 7.5, or about 7.5 to about 10, or any value in between.

Optionally, the second set of adaptive conditions (e.g., process conditions) can comprise microaerobic to anaerobic conditions. Optionally, the second set of adaptive conditions can be for the production phase of the fermentation. Microaerobic to anaerobic conditions can be characterized by a specific oxygen uptake rate, a carbon dioxide evolution rate, or a respiratory quotient (RQ).

In some embodiments, the Sp. OUR during a production phase is about 0 to about 2.5, about 0 to about 2, about 0 to about 1.5, about 0 to about 1, about 1 to about 2.5, about 1 to about 2, about 1 to about 1.5, about 1.5 to about 2.5, or about 1.5 to about 2 millimoles per grams of cell per hour, or any value in between.

In some embodiments, the Sp. CER during a production phase is about 1 to about 10, about 1 to about 7, about 1 to about 5, about 1 to about 3, about 1 to about 2, about 3 to about 10, about 3 to about 7, about 3 to about 5, about 5 to about 10, about 5 to about 8, about 5 to about 6, or about 7 to about 10 millimoles per grams of cell per hour, or any value in between

In some embodiments, the RQ during a production phase is about 2 to infinity, about 2 to about 100, about 2 to about 75, about 2 to about 50, about 2 to about 25, about 2 to about 10, about 10 to about 100, about 10 to about 75, about 10 to about 50, about 10 to about 25, about 25 to about 100, about 25 to about 75, about 25 to about 50, about 50 to about 100, about 50 to about 75, or about 75 to about 100, or any value in between.

In certain embodiments, differential activation of the engineered butanol biosynthetic pathway can be controlled by the concentration of the substrate (e.g., glucose) in the fermentation medium. A distinguishing condition between the growth, propagation, and production phases is the presence of low glucose concentrations in the growth phase, medium to high glucose concentrations during the propagation phase, and high to excess glucose conditions during the production phase. Thus, in certain embodiments, medium to high glucose concentration vs. glucose excess conditions can result in the differential activation of the engineered butanol biosynthetic pathway in the propagation vs. the production phases of the fermentation. By way of an example, the engineered butanol biosynthetic pathway can be inactive or minimally activated in medium to high glucose concentrations in the propagation phase and consequently can be substantially or completely activated when pitched into glucose excess conditions in the production phase of the fermentation.

Optionally, the first or second set of process conditions can comprise glucose excess conditions. Glucose excess conditions can comprise glucose concentrations of about 1 g/L to about 50 g/L; about 3 g/L to about 50 g/L; about 5 g/L to about 50 g/L; about 10 g/L to about 50 g/L; about 20 g/L to about 50 g/L; about 30 g/L to about 50 g/L; about 40 g/L to about 50 g/L; about 1 g/L to about 25 g/L; about 5 g/L to about 25 g/L; about 10 g/L to about 25 g/L; about 15 g/L to about 25 g/L; about 20 g/L to about 25 g/L, or any value in between.

In certain embodiments, differential activation of the engineered butanol biosynthetic pathway can be controlled by the pH in the fermentation medium. By way of an example, the engineered butanol biosynthetic pathway can be inactived or minimally activated in lower pH conditions in the propagation phase and consequently can be substantially or completely activated when pitched into higher pH conditions in the production phase of the fermentation. By way of another example, the engineered butanol biosynthetic pathway can be inactivated or minimially activated in higher pH conditions in the propagation phase and consequently can be substantially or completely activated when pitched into lower pH conditions in the production phase of the fermentation.

In certain embodiments, differential activation of the engineered butanol biosynthetic pathway can be controlled by the temperature of the fermentation medium. By way of an example, the engineered butanol biosynthetic pathway can be inactivated or minimally activated in lower temperatures in the propagation phase and consequently can be substantially or completely activated when pitched into higher temperatures in the production phase of the fermentation. By way of another example, the engineered butanol biosynthetic pathway can be inactivated or minimally activated in higher temperatures and consequently can be substantially or completely activated when pitched into lower temperatures in the production phase of the fermentation.

In certain embodiments, differential activation of the engineered butanol biosynthetic pathway can be controlled by the concentration of butanol, a butanol metabolite, or 2-butanone in the fermentation medium. By way of an example, pathway activation can be increased as butanol concentrations are increased (e.g., if increased butanol concentrations can control production phase polypeptides).

In certain embodiments, differential activation of the engineered butanol biosynthetic pathway can be controlled by the addition of components to the fermentation media. By way of an example, biochemical or chemical components can be added to the fermentation media to activate an enzyme of the engineered butanol biosynthetic pathway resulting in increased production of butanol.

Differential Activation

Recombinant host cells comprising an engineered butanol biosynthetic pathway can be subjected to different conditions, such as the adaptive conditions corresponding to those of the propagation vs. the production phase, and the differential activation of the engineered butanol biosynthetic pathway can be confirmed by methods known in the art and/or provided herein. Differential expression of a polynucleotide encoding a biocatalyst polypeptide can be confirmed by comparing transcript levels under different conditions using reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) or real time PCR using methods known in the art. Differential expression of a polynucleotide of the engineered butanol biosynthetic pathway can be indicative of differential activation of the pathway. In some embodiments, a reporter, such as a green fluorescent protein (GFP) can be used in combination with flow cytometry to confirm the differential expression via a promoter nucleic acid sequence to affect expression under different conditions. Furthermore, the activity of a biocatalyst polypeptide may be determined under different conditions to confirm the differential expression of the polypeptide. By way of an example, where the acetolactate synthase is the biocatalyst polypeptide, the activity of acetolactate synthase present in host cells subjected to different conditions may be determined (using, e.g., methods described in W. W. Westerfeld, JBC 161:495-502 (1945)). A difference in acetolactate synthase activity can be used to confirm differential expression of acetolactate synthase. It is also envisioned that differential expression and/or activation of a biocatalyst polypeptide can be confirmed indirectly by measurement of downstream products or byproducts. For example, a decrease in production of isobutyraldehyde may be indicative of differential acetolactate synthase expression and/or activation.

It will be appreciated that other useful methods to confirm differential expression include measurement of biomass and/or measurement of biosynthetic pathway products under different conditions. For example, spectrophotometric measurement of optical density (O.D.) can be used as an indicator of biomass. Measurement of pathway products or by-products, including, but not limited to butanol concentration, DHMB concentration, or isobutyric acid can be carried out using methods known in the art and/or provided herein such as high pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC; for example, see PCT. Pub. No. WO2012/129555, incorporated herein by reference). Likewise, the rate of biomass increase, the rate of glucose consumption, or the rate of butanol production can be determined, for example by using the indicated methods. Biomass yield and product (e.g., butanol) yield can likewise be determined using methods disclosed in the art and/or herein.

Recombinant Microorganisms

While not wishing to be bound by theory, it is believed that the processes described herein are useful in conjunction with any alcohol producing microorganism, particularly recombinant microorganisms which produce alcohol.

Recombinant microorganisms which produce alcohol are also known in the art (e.g., Ohta et al., Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 57:893-900 (1991); Underwood et al., Appi. Environ. Microbiol. 68:1071-81 (2002); Shen and Liao, Metab. Eng. 10:312-20 (2008); Hahnai et al., Appi. Environ. 73:7814-8 (2007); U.S. Pat. No. 5,514,583; U.S. Pat. No. 5,712,133; International Publication No. WO 1995/028476; Feldmann et al., Appi. Microbiol. Biotechnol. 38:354-61 (1992); Zhang et al., Science 267:240-3 (1995); U.S. Patent Publication No. 2007/0031918A1; U.S. Pat. No. 7,223,575; U.S. Pat. No. 7,741,119; U.S. Patent Publication No. 2009/0203099A1; U.S. Patent Publication No. 2009/0246846A1; and International Publication No. WO 2010/075241, which are herein incorporated by reference).

For example, the metabolic pathways of microorganisms may be genetically modified to produce butanol. These pathways may also be modified to reduce or eliminate undesired metabolites, and thereby improve yield of the product alcohol. The production of butanol by a microorganism is disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,851,188; 7,993,889; 8,178,328, 8,206,970; U.S. Patent Application Publication Nos. 2007/0292927; 2008/0182308; 2008/0274525; 2009/0305363; 2009/0305370; 2011/0250610; 2011/0313206; 2011/0111472; 2012/0258873; and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/428,585, the entire contents of each are herein incorporated by reference. In some embodiments, microorganisms comprise a butanol biosynthetic pathway or a biosynthetic pathway for a butanol isomer such as 1-butanol, 2-butanol, or isobutanol. In some embodiments, the biosynthetic pathway converts pyruvate to a fermentative product. In some embodiments, the biosynthetic pathway converts pyruvate as well as amino acids to a fermentative product. In some embodiments, at least one, at least two, at least three, or at least four polypeptides catalyzing substrate to product conversions of a pathway are encoded by heterologous polynucleotides in the microorganism. In some embodiments, all polypeptides catalyzing substrate to product conversions of a pathway are encoded by heterologous polynucleotides in the microorganism.

In some embodiments, the microorganism may be bacteria, cyanobacteria, filamentous fungi, or yeasts. Suitable microorganisms capable of producing product alcohol (e.g., butanol) via a biosynthetic pathway include a member of the genera Clostridium, Zymomonas, Escherichia, Salmonella, Serratia, Erwinia, Klebsiella, Shigella, Rhodococcus, Pseudomonas, Bacillus, Lactobacillus, Lactococcus, Enterococcus, Alcaligenes, Paenibacillus, Arthrobacter, Corynebacterium, Brevibacterium, Schizosaccharomyces, Kluveromyces, Yarrowia, Pichia, Zygosaccharomyces, Debaryomyces, Candida, Brettanomyces, Pachysolen, Hansenula, Issatchenkia, Trichosporon, Yamadazyma, or Saccharomyces. In one embodiment, recombinant microorganisms may be selected from the group consisting of Escherichia coli, Alcaligenes eutrophus, Bacillus lichenifonnis, Paenibacillus macerans, Rhodocuccus erythropolis, Pseudomonas putida, Lactobacillus plantarum, Enterococcus faecium, Enterococcus gallinarium, Enterococcus faecalis, Bacillus subtilis, Candida sonorensis, Candida methanosorbosa, Kluyveromyces lactis, Kluyveromyces marxianus, Kluveromyces thermotolerans, Issatchenkia orientalis, Debaryomyces hansenii, and Saccharomyces cerevisiae. In one embodiment, the genetically modified microorganism is yeast. In one embodiment, the genetically modified microorganism is a crabtree-positive yeast selected from Saccharomyces, Zygosaccharomyces, Schizosaccharomyces, Dekkera, Torulopsis, Brettanomyces, and some species of Candida. Species of crabtree-positive yeast include, but are not limited to, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Saccharomyces kluyveri, Schizosaccharomyces pombe, Saccharomyces bayanus, Saccharomyces mikitae, Saccharomyces paradoxus, Saccharomyces uvarum, Saccharomyces castelli, Zygosaccharomyces rouxii, Zygosaccharomyces bailli, and Candida glabrata.

In some embodiments, the host cell is Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Saccharomyces cerevisiae are known in the art and are available from a variety of sources including, but not limited to, American Type Culture Collection (Rockville, Md.), Centraalbureau voor Schimmelcultures (CBS) Fungal Biodiversity Centre, LeSaffre, Gert Strand AB, Ferm Solutions, North American Bioproducts, Martrex, and Lallemand. S. cerevisiae include, but are not limited to, BY4741, CEN.PK 113-7D, Ethanol Red® yeast, Ferm Pro™ yeast, Bio-Ferm® XR yeast, Gert Strand Prestige Batch Turbo alcohol yeast, Gert Strand Pot Distillers yeast, Gert Strand Distillers Turbo yeast, FerMax™ Green yeast, FerMax™ Gold yeast, Thermosacc® yeast, BG-1, PE-2, CAT-1, CBS7959, CBS7960, and CBS7961.

In some embodiments, the microorganism may be immobilized or encapsulated. For example, the microorganism may be immobilized or encapsulated using alginate, calcium alginate, or polyacrylamide gels, or through the induction of biofilm formation onto a variety of high surface area support matrices such as diatomite, celite, diatomaceous earth, silica gels, plastics, or resins. In some embodiments, ISPR may be used in combination with immobilized or encapsulated microorganisms. This combination may improve productivity such as specific volumetric productivity, metabolic rate, product alcohol yields, and tolerance to product alcohol. In addition, immobilization and encapsulation may minimize the effects of the process conditions such as shearing on the microorganisms.

Biosynthetic pathways for the production of isobutanol that may be used include those as described by Donaldson et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 7,851,188; U.S. Pat. No. 7,993,388; and International Publication No. WO 2007/050671, which are incorporated herein by reference. In one embodiment, the isobutanol biosynthetic pathway comprises the following substrate to product conversions:

a) pyruvate to acetolactate, which may be catalyzed, for example, by acetolactate synthase;

b) the acetolactate from step a) to 2,3-dihydroxyisovalerate, which may be catalyzed, for example, by ketol-acid reductoisomerase;

c) the 2,3-dihydroxyisovalerate from step b) to α-ketoisovalerate, which may be catalyzed, for example, by dihydroxyacid dehydratase;

d) the α-ketoisovalerate from step c) to isobutyraldehyde, which may be catalyzed, for example, by a branched-chain α-keto acid decarboxylase; and,

e) the isobutyraldehyde from step d) to isobutanol, which may be catalyzed, for example, by a branched-chain alcohol dehydrogenase.

In another embodiment, the isobutanol biosynthetic pathway comprises the following substrate to product conversions:

a) pyruvate to acetolactate, which may be catalyzed, for example, by acetolactate synthase;

b) the acetolactate from step a) to 2,3-dihydroxyisovalerate, which may be catalyzed, for example, by ketol-acid reductoisomerase;

c) the 2,3-dihydroxyisovalerate from step b) to α-ketoisovalerate, which may be catalyzed, for example, by dihydroxyacid dehydratase;

d) the α-ketoisovalerate from step c) to valine, which may be catalyzed, for example, by transaminase or valine dehydrogenase;

e) the valine from step d) to isobutylamine, which may be catalyzed, for example, by valine decarboxylase;

f) the isobutylamine from step e) to isobutyraldehyde, which may be catalyzed by, for example, omega transaminase; and,

g) the isobutyraldehyde from step f) to isobutanol, which may be catalyzed, for example, by a branched-chain alcohol dehydrogenase.

In another embodiment, the isobutanol biosynthetic pathway comprises the following substrate to product conversions:

a) pyruvate to acetolactate, which may be catalyzed, for example, by acetolactate synthase;

b) the acetolactate from step a) to 2,3-dihydroxyisovalerate, which may be catalyzed, for example, by ketol-acid reductoisomerase;

c) the 2,3-dihydroxyisovalerate from step b) to α-ketoisovalerate, which may be catalyzed, for example, by dihydroxyacid dehydratase;

d) the α-ketoisovalerate from step c) to isobutyryl-CoA, which may be catalyzed, for example, by branched-chain keto acid dehydrogenase;

e) the isobutyryl-CoA from step d) to isobutyraldehyde, which may be catalyzed, for example, by acylating aldehyde dehydrogenase; and,

f) the isobutyraldehyde from step e) to isobutanol, which may be catalyzed, for example, by a branched-chain alcohol dehydrogenase.

Biosynthetic pathways for the production of 1-butanol that may be used include those described in U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2008/0182308 and WO2007/041269, which are incorporated herein by reference. In one embodiment, the 1-butanol biosynthetic pathway comprises the following substrate to product conversions:

a) acetyl-CoA to acetoacetyl-CoA, which may be catalyzed, for example, by acetyl-CoA acetyltransferase;

b) the acetoacetyl-CoA from step a) to 3-hydroxybutyryl-CoA, which may be catalyzed, for example, by 3-hydroxybutyryl-CoA dehydrogenase;

c) the 3-hydroxybutyryl-CoA from step b) to crotonyl-CoA, which may be catalyzed, for example, by crotonase;

d) the crotonyl-CoA from step c) to butyryl-CoA, which may be catalyzed, for example, by butyryl-CoA dehydrogenase;

e) the butyryl-CoA from step d) to butyraldehyde, which may be catalyzed, for example, by butyraldehyde dehydrogenase; and,

f) the butyraldehyde from step e) to 1-butanol, which may be catalyzed, for example, by butanol dehydrogenase.

Biosynthetic pathways for the production of 2-butanol that may be used include those described by Donaldson et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 8,206,970; U.S. Patent Application Publication Nos. 2007/0292927 and 2009/0155870; International Publication Nos. WO 2007/130518 and WO 2007/130521, all of which are incorporated herein by reference. In one embodiment, the 2-butanol biosynthetic pathway comprises the following substrate to product conversions:

a) pyruvate to alpha-acetolactate, which may be catalyzed, for example, by acetolactate synthase;

b) the alpha-acetolactate from step a) to acetoin, which may be catalyzed, for example, by acetolactate decarboxylase;

c) the acetoin from step b) to 3-amino-2-butanol, which may be catalyzed, for example, acetoin aminase;

d) the 3-amino-2-butanol from step c) to 3-amino-2-butanol phosphate, which may be catalyzed, for example, by aminobutanol kinase;

e) the 3-amino-2-butanol phosphate from step d) to 2-butanone, which may be catalyzed, for example, by aminobutanol phosphate phosphorylase; and,

f) the 2-butanone from step e) to 2-butanol, which may be catalyzed, for example, by butanol dehydrogenase.

In another embodiment, the 2-butanol biosynthetic pathway comprises the following substrate to product conversions:

a) pyruvate to alpha-acetolactate, which may be catalyzed, for example, by acetolactate synthase;

b) the alpha-acetolactate from step a) to acetoin, which may be catalyzed, for example, by acetolactate decarboxylase;

c) the acetoin to 2,3-butanediol from step b), which may be catalyzed, for example, by butanediol dehydrogenase;

d) the 2,3-butanediol from step c) to 2-butanone, which may be catalyzed, for example, by dial dehydratase; and,

e) the 2-butanone from step d) to 2-butanol, which may be catalyzed, for example, by butanol dehydrogenase.

Biosynthetic pathways for the production of 2-butanone that may be used include those described in U.S. Pat. No. 8,206,970 and U.S. Patent Application Publication Nos. 2007/0292927 and 2009/0155870, which are incorporated herein by reference. In one embodiment, the 2-butanone biosynthetic pathway comprises the following substrate to product conversions:

a) pyruvate to alpha-acetolactate, which may be catalyzed, for example, by acetolactate synthase;

b) the alpha-acetolactate from step a) to acetoin, which may be catalyzed, for example, by acetolactate decarboxylase;

c) the acetoin from step b) to 3-amino-2-butanol, which may be catalyzed, for example, acetoin aminase;

d) the 3-amino-2-butanol from step c) to 3-amino-2-butanol phosphate, which may be catalyzed, for example, by aminobutanol kinase; and,

e) the 3-amino-2-butanol phosphate from step d) to 2-butanone, which may be catalyzed, for example, by aminobutanol phosphate phosphorylase.

In another embodiment, the 2-butanone biosynthetic pathway comprises the following substrate to product conversions:

a) pyruvate to alpha-acetolactate, which may be catalyzed, for example, by acetolactate synthase;

b) the alpha-acetolactate from step a) to acetoin which may be catalyzed, for example, by acetolactate decarboxylase;

c) the acetoin from step b) to 2,3-butanediol, which may be catalyzed, for example, by butanediol dehydrogenase;

d) the 2,3-butanediol from step c) to 2-butanone, which may be catalyzed, for example, by diol dehydratase.

The terms “acetohydroxy acid synthase,” “acetolactate synthase,” and “acetolactate synthetase” (abbreviated “ALS”) are used interchangeably herein to refer to an enzyme that catalyzes the conversion of pyruvate to acetolactate and CO₂. Example acetolactate synthases are known by the EC number 2.2.1.6 (Enzyme Nomenclature 1992, Academic Press, San Diego). These enzymes are available from a number of sources, including, but not limited to, Bacillus subtilis (GenBank Nos: CAB07802.1, Z99122, NCBI (National Center for Biotechnology Information) amino acid sequence, NCBI nucleotide sequence, respectively), CAB15618, Klebsiella pneumoniae (GenBank Nos: AAA25079, M73842), and Lactococcus lactis (GenBank Nos: AAA25161, L16975).

The term “ketol-acid reductoisomerase” (“KARI”), “acetohydroxy acid isomeroreductase,” and “acetohydroxy acid reductoisomerase” will be used interchangeably and refer to enzymes capable of catalyzing the reaction of (S)-acetolactate to 2,3-dihydroxyisovalerate. Example KARI enzymes may be classified as EC number EC 1.1.1.86 (Enzyme Nomenclature 1992, Academic Press, San Diego), and are available from a vast array of microorganisms, including, but not limited to, Escherichia coli (GenBank Nos: NP_(—)418222, NC_(—)000913), Saccharomyces cerevisiae (GenBank Nos: NP_(—)013459, NC_(—)001144), Methanococcus maripaludis (GenBank Nos: CAF30210, BX957220), and Bacillus subtilis (GenBank Nos: CAB14789, Z99118). KARIs include Anaerostipes caccae KARI variants “K9G9,” “K9D3,” and “K9JB4P.” Ketol-acid reductoisomerase (KARI) enzymes are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,910,342 and 8,129,162; U.S. Patent Application Publication Nos. 2008/0261230, 2009/0163376, 2010/0197519, PCT Application Publication No. WO/2011/041415, PCT Application Publication No. WO2012/129555; and U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/705,977, filed on Sep. 26, 2012, all of which are incorporated herein by reference. Examples of KARIs disclosed therein are those from Lactococcus lactis, Anaerostipes caccae and variants thereof; Pseudomonas fluorescens and PF5 mutants thereof; Vibrio cholera, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO1. In some embodiments, the KARI utilizes NADH. In some embodiments, the KARI utilizes NADPH. In some embodiments, the KARI utilizes NADH or NADPH.

The term “acetohydroxy acid dehydratase” and “dihydroxyacid dehydratase” (“DHAD”) refers to an enzyme that catalyzes the conversion of 2,3-dihydroxyisovalerate to α-ketoisovalerate. Example acetohydroxy acid dehydratases are known by the EC number 4.2.1.9. Such enzymes are available from a vast array of microorganisms, including, but not limited to, E. coli (GenBank Nos: YP_(—)026248, NC000913), Saccharomyces cerevisiae (GenBank Nos: NP_(—)012550, NC_(—)001142), M. maripaludis (GenBank Nos: CAF29874, BX957219), B. subtilis (GenBank Nos: CAB14105, Z99115), L. lactis, and N. crassa. U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2010/0081154, U.S. Pat. No. 7,851,188, and U.S. Pat. No. 8,241,878, which are incorporated herein by reference, describe dihydroxyacid dehydratases (DHADs), including a DHAD from Streptococcus mutans and variants thereof

The term “branched-chain α-keto acid decarboxylase,” “α-ketoacid decarboxylase,” “α-ketoisovalerate decarboxylase,” or “2-ketoisovalerate decarboxylase” (“KIVD”) refers to an enzyme that catalyzes the conversion of α-ketoisovalerate to isobutyraldehyde and CO₂. Example branched-chain α-keto acid decarboxylases are known by the EC number 4.1.1.72 and are available from a number of sources, including, but not limited to, Lactococcus lactis (GenBank Nos: AAS49166, AY548760; CAG34226, AJ746364), Salmonella typhimurium (GenBank Nos: NP_(—)461346, NC_(—)003197), Clostridium acetobutylicum (GenBank Nos: NP_(—)149189, NC_(—)001988), M. caseolyticus, and L. grayi.

The term “branched-chain alcohol dehydrogenase” (“ADH”) refers to an enzyme that catalyzes the conversion of isobutyraldehyde to isobutanol. Example branched-chain alcohol dehydrogenases are known by the EC number 1.1.1.265, but may also be classified under other alcohol dehydrogenases (specifically, EC 1.1.1.1 or 1.1.1.2). Alcohol dehydrogenases may be NADPH dependent or NADH dependent. Such enzymes are available from a number of sources, including, but not limited to, S. cerevisiae (GenBank Nos: NP_(—)010656, NC_(—)001136, NP_(—)014051, NC_(—)001145), E. coli (GenBank Nos: NP_(—)417484, NC_(—)000913), C. acetobutylicum (GenBank Nos: NP_(—)349892, NC_(—)003030; NP_(—)349891, NC_(—)003030). U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2009/0269823 describes SadB, an alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) from Achromobacter xylosoxidans. Alcohol dehydrogenases also include horse liver ADH and Beijerinkia indica ADH, as described by U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2011/0269199, which is incorporated herein by reference.

The term “butanol dehydrogenase” refers to a polypeptide (or polypeptides) having an enzyme activity that catalyzes the conversion of isobutyraldehyde to isobutanol or the conversion of 2-butanone and 2-butanol. Butanol dehydrogenases are a subset of a broad family of alcohol dehydrogenases. Butanol dehydrogenase may be NAD- or NADP-dependent. The NAD-dependent enzymes are known as EC 1.1.1.1 and are available, for example, from Rhodococcus ruber (GenBank Nos: CAD36475, AJ491307). The NADP dependent enzymes are known as EC 1.1.1.2 and are available, for example, from Pyrococcus furiosus (GenBank Nos: AAC25556, AF013169). Additionally, a butanol dehydrogenase is available from Escherichia coli (GenBank Nos: NP 417484, NC_(—)000913) and a cyclohexanol dehydrogenase is available from Acinetobacter sp. (GenBank Nos: AAG10026, AF282240). The term “butanol dehydrogenase” also refers to an enzyme that catalyzes the conversion of butyraldehyde to 1-butanol, using either NADH or NADPH as cofactor. Butanol dehydrogenases are available from, for example, C. acetobutylicum (GenBank NOs: NP_(—)149325, NC_(—)001988; note: this enzyme possesses both aldehyde and alcohol dehydrogenase activity); NP_(—)349891, NC_(—)003030; and NP_(—)349892, NC_(—)003030) and E. coli (GenBank NOs: NP_(—)417-484, NC_(—)000913).

The term “branched-chain keto acid dehydrogenase” refers to an enzyme that catalyzes the conversion of α-ketoisovalerate to isobutyryl-CoA (isobutyryl-coenzyme A), typically using NAD⁺ (nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide) as an electron acceptor. Example branched-chain keto acid dehydrogenases are known by the EC number 1.2.4.4. Such branched-chain keto acid dehydrogenases are comprised of four subunits and sequences from all subunits are available from a vast array of microorganisms, including, but not limited to, B. subtilis (GenBank Nos: CAB14336, Z99116; CAB14335, Z99116; CAB14334, Z99116; and CAB14337, Z99116) and Pseudomonas putida (GenBank Nos: AAA65614, M57613; AAA65615, M57613; AAA65617, M57613; and AAA65618, M57613).

The term “acylating aldehyde dehydrogenase” refers to an enzyme that catalyzes the conversion of isobutyryl-CoA to isobutyraldehyde, typically using either NADH or NADPH as an electron donor. Example acylating aldehyde dehydrogenases are known by the EC numbers 1.2.1.10 and 1.2.1.57. Such enzymes are available from multiple sources, including, but not limited to, Clostridium beijerinckii (GenBank Nos: AAD31841, AF157306), C. acetobutylicum (GenBank Nos: NP_(—)149325, NC_(—)001988; NP_(—)149199, NC_(—)001988), P. putida (GenBank Nos: AAA89106, U13232), and Thermus thermophilus (GenBank Nos: YP_(—)145486, NC_(—)006461).

The term “transaminase” refers to an enzyme that catalyzes the conversion of α-ketoisovalerate to L-valine, using either alanine or glutamate as an amine donor. Example transaminases are known by the EC numbers 2.6.1.42 and 2.6.1.66. Such enzymes are available from a number of sources. Examples of sources for alanine-dependent enzymes include, but are not limited to, E. coli (GenBank Nos: YP_(—)026231, NC_(—)000913) and Bacillus licheniformis (GenBank Nos: YP_(—)093743, NC_(—)006322). Examples of sources for glutamate-dependent enzymes include, but are not limited to, E. coli (GenBank Nos: YP_(—)026247, NC_(—)000913), Saccharomyces cerevisiae (GenBank Nos: NP_(—)012682, NC_(—)001142) and Methanobacterium thermoautotrophicum (GenBank Nos: NP_(—)276546, NC_(—)000916).

The term “valine dehydrogenase” refers to an enzyme that catalyzes the conversion of α-ketoisovalerate to L-valine, typically using NAD(P)H as an electron donor and ammonia as an amine donor. Example valine dehydrogenases are known by the EC numbers 1.4.1.8 and 1.4.1.9 and such enzymes are available from a number of sources, including, but not limited to, Streptomyces coelicolor (GenBank Nos: NP_(—)628270, NC_(—)003888) and B. subtilis (GenBank Nos: CAB14339, Z99116).

The term “valine decarboxylase” refers to an enzyme that catalyzes the conversion of L-valine to isobutylamine and CO₂. Example valine decarboxylases are known by the EC number 4.1.1.14. Such enzymes are found in Streptomyces, such as for example, Streptomyces viridifaciens (GenBank Nos: AAN10242, AY116644).

The term “omega transaminase” refers to an enzyme that catalyzes the conversion of isobutylamine to isobutyraldehyde using a suitable amino acid as an amine donor. Example omega transaminases are known by the EC number 2.6.1.18 and are available from a number of sources, including, but not limited to, Alcaligenes denitrificans (AAP92672, AY330220), Ralstonia eutropha (GenBank Nos: YP_(—)294474, NC_(—)007347), Shewanella oneidensis (GenBank Nos: NP_(—)719046, NC_(—)004347), and P. putida (GenBank Nos: AAN66223, AE016776).

The term “acetyl-CoA acetyltransferase” refers to an enzyme that catalyzes the conversion of two molecules of acetyl-CoA to acetoacetyl-CoA and coenzyme A (CoA). Example acetyl-CoA acetyltransferases are acetyl-CoA acetyltransferases with substrate preferences (reaction in the forward direction) for a short chain acyl-CoA and acetyl-CoA and are classified as E.C. 2.3.1.9 [Enzyme Nomenclature 1992, Academic Press, San Diego]; although, enzymes with a broader substrate range (E.C. 2.3.1.16) will be functional as well. Acetyl-CoA acetyltransferases are available from a number of sources, for example, Escherichia coli (GenBank Nos: NP_(—)416728, NC_(—)000913; NCBI (National Center for Biotechnology Information) amino acid sequence, NCBI nucleotide sequence), Clostridium acetobutylicum (GenBank Nos: NP_(—)349476.1, NC_(—)003030; NP_(—)149242, NC_(—)001988, Bacillus subtilis (GenBank Nos: NP_(—)390297, NC_(—)000964), and Saccharomyces cerevisiae (GenBank Nos: NP_(—)015297, NC_(—)001148).

The term “3-hydroxybutyryl-CoA dehydrogenase” refers to an enzyme that catalyzes the conversion of acetoacetyl-CoA to 3-hydroxybutyryl-CoA. 3-Example hydroxybutyryl-CoA dehydrogenases may be reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH)-dependent, with a substrate preference for (S)-3-hydroxybutyryl-CoA or (R)-3-hydroxybutyryl-CoA. Examples may be classified as E.C. 1.1.1.35 and E.C. 1.1.1.30, respectively. Additionally, 3-hydroxybutyryl-CoA dehydrogenases may be reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH)-dependent, with a substrate preference for (S)-3-hydroxybutyryl-CoA or (R)-3-hydroxybutyryl-CoA and are classified as E.C. 1.1.1.157 and E.C. 1.1.1.36, respectively. 3-Hydroxybutyryl-CoA dehydrogenases are available from a number of sources, for example, C. acetobutylicum (GenBank NOs: NP_(—)349314, NC_(—)003030), B. subtilis (GenBank NOs: AAB09614, U29084), Ralstonia eutropha (GenBank NOs: YP_(—)294481, NC_(—)007347), and Alcaligenes eutrophus (GenBank NOs: AAA21973, J04987).

The term “crotonase” refers to an enzyme that catalyzes the conversion of 3-hydroxybutyryl-CoA to crotonyl-CoA and H₂O. Example crotonases may have a substrate preference for (S)-3-hydroxybutyryl-CoA or (R)-3-hydroxybutyryl-CoA and may be classified as E.C. 4.2.1.17 and E.C. 4.2.1.55, respectively. Crotonases are available from a number of sources, for example, E. coli (GenBank NOs: NP_(—)415911, NC_(—)000913), C. acetobutylicum (GenBank NOs: NP_(—)349318, NC_(—)003030), B. subtilis (GenBank NOs: CAB13705, Z99113), and Aeromonas caviae (GenBank NOs: BAA21816, D88825).

The term “butyryl-CoA dehydrogenase” refers to an enzyme that catalyzes the conversion of crotonyl-CoA to butyryl-CoA. Example butyryl-CoA dehydrogenases may be NADH-dependent, NADPH-dependent, or flavin-dependent and may be classified as E.C. 1.3.1.44, E.C. 1.3.1.38, and E.C. 1.3.99.2, respectively. Butyryl-CoA dehydrogenases are available from a number of sources, for example, C. acetobutylicum (GenBank NOs: NP_(—)347102, NC_(—)003030), Euglena gracilis (GenBank NOs: Q5EU90, AY741582), Streptomyces collinus (GenBank NOs: AAA92890, U37135), and Streptomyces coelicolor (GenBank NOs: CAA22721, AL939127).

The term “butyraldehyde dehydrogenase” refers to an enzyme that catalyzes the conversion of butyryl-CoA to butyraldehyde, using NADH or NADPH as cofactor. Butyraldehyde dehydrogenases with a preference for NADH are known as E.C. 1.2.1.57 and are available from, for example, Clostridium beijerinckii (GenBank NOs: AAD31841, AF157306) and C. acetobutylicum (GenBank NOs: NP_(—)149325, NC_(—)001988).

The term “isobutyryl-CoA mutase” refers to an enzyme that catalyzes the conversion of butyryl-CoA to isobutyryl-CoA. This enzyme uses coenzyme B₁₂ as cofactor. Example isobutyryl-CoA mutases are known by the EC number 5.4.99.13. These enzymes are found in a number of Streptomyces, including, but not limited to, Streptomyces cinnamonensis (GenBank Nos: AAC08713, U67612; CAB59633, AJ246005), S. coelicolor (GenBank Nos: CAB70645, AL939123; CAB92663, AL939121), and Streptomyces avermitilis (GenBank Nos: NP_(—)824008, NC_(—)003155; NP_(—)824637, NC_(—)003155).

The term “acetolactate decarboxylase” refers to a polypeptide (or polypeptides) having an enzyme activity that catalyzes the conversion of alpha-acetolactate to acetoin. Example acetolactate decarboxylases are known as EC 4.1.1.5 and are available, for example, from Bacillus subtilis (GenBank Nos: AAA22223, L04470), Klebsiella terrigena (GenBank Nos: AAA25054, L04507) and Klebsiella pneumoniae (GenBank Nos: AAU43774, AY722056).

The term “acetoin aminase” or “acetoin transaminase” refers to a polypeptide (or polypeptides) having an enzyme activity that catalyzes the conversion of acetoin to 3-amino-2-butanol. Acetoin aminase may utilize the cofactor pyridoxal 5′-phosphate or NADH (reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide) or NADPH (reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate). The resulting product may have (R) or (S) stereochemistry at the 3-position. The pyridoxal phosphate-dependent enzyme may use an amino acid such as alanine or glutamate as the amino donor. The NADH- and NADPH-dependent enzymes may use ammonia as a second substrate. A suitable example of an NADH dependent acetoin aminase, also known as amino alcohol dehydrogenase, is described by Ito, et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 6,432,688). An example of a pyridoxal-dependent acetoin aminase is the amine:pyruvate aminotransferase (also called amine:pyruvate transaminase) described by Shin and Kim (J. Org. Chem. 67:2848-2853, 2002).

The term “acetoin kinase” refers to a polypeptide (or polypeptides) having an enzyme activity that catalyzes the conversion of acetoin to phosphoacetoin. Acetoin kinase may utilize ATP (adenosine triphosphate) or phosphoenolpyruvate as the phosphate donor in the reaction. Enzymes that catalyze the analogous reaction on the similar substrate dihydroxyacetone, for example, include enzymes known as EC 2.7.1.29 (Garcia-Alles, et al., Biochemistry 43:13037-13046, 2004).

The term “acetoin phosphate aminase” refers to a polypeptide (or polypeptides) having an enzyme activity that catalyzes the conversion of phosphoacetoin to 3-amino-2-butanol 0-phosphate. Acetoin phosphate aminase may use the cofactor pyridoxal 5′-phosphate, NADH or NADPH. The resulting product may have (R) or (S) stereochemistry at the 3-position. The pyridoxal phosphate-dependent enzyme may use an amino acid such as alanine or glutamate. The NADH and NADPH-dependent enzymes may use ammonia as a second substrate. Although there are no reports of enzymes catalyzing this reaction on phosphoacetoin, there is a pyridoxal phosphate-dependent enzyme that is proposed to carry out the analogous reaction on the similar substrate serinol phosphate (Yasuta, et al., Appl. Environ. Microbial. 67:4999-5009, 2001).

The term “aminobutanol phosphate phospholyase,” also called “amino alcohol 0-phosphate lyase,” refers to a polypeptide (or polypeptides) having an enzyme activity that catalyzes the conversion of 3-amino-2-butanol 0-phosphate to 2-butanone. Amino butanol phosphate phospho-lyase may utilize the cofactor pyridoxal 5′-phosphate. There are reports of enzymes that catalyze the analogous reaction on the similar substrate 1-amino-2-propanol phosphate (Jones, et al., Biochem J. 134:167-182, 1973). U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2007/0259410 describes an aminobutanol phosphate phospho-lyase from the organism Erwinia carotovora.

The term “aminobutanol kinase” refers to a polypeptide (or polypeptides) having an enzyme activity that catalyzes the conversion of 3-amino-2-butanol to 3-amino-2-butanol 0-phosphate. Amino butanol kinase may utilize ATP as the phosphate donor. Although there are no reports of enzymes catalyzing this reaction on 3-amino-2-butanol, there are reports of enzymes that catalyze the analogous reaction on the similar substrates ethanolamine and 1-amino-2-propanol (Jones, et al., supra). U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2009/0155870 describes, in Example 14, an amino alcohol kinase of Erwinia carotovora subsp. Atroseptica.

The term “butanediol dehydrogenase” also known as “acetoin reductase” refers to a polypeptide (or polypeptides) having an enzyme activity that catalyzes the conversion of acetoin to 2,3-butanediol. Butanediol dehydrogenases are a subset of the broad family of alcohol dehydrogenases. Butanediol dehydrogenase enzymes may have specificity for production of (R)- or (S)-stereochemistry in the alcohol product. (S)-specific butanediol dehydrogenases are known as EC 1.1.1.76 and are available, for example, from Klebsiella pneumoniae (GenBank Nos: BBA13085, D86412). (R)-specific butanediol dehydrogenases are known as EC 1.1.1.4 and are available, for example, from Bacillus cereus (GenBank Nos. NP 830481, NC_(—)004722; AAP07682, AE017000), and Lactococcus lactis (GenBank Nos. AAK04995, AE006323).

The term “butanediol dehydratase,” also known as “dial dehydratase” or “propanediol dehydratase” refers to a polypeptide (or polypeptides) having an enzyme activity that catalyzes the conversion of 2,3-butanediol to 2-butanone. Butanediol dehydratase may utilize the cofactor adenosyl cobalamin (also known as coenzyme Bw or vitamin B12; although vitamin B12 may refer also to other forms of cobalamin that are not coenzyme B12). Adenosyl cobalamin-dependent enzymes are known as EC 4.2.1.28 and are available, for example, from Klebsiella oxytoca (GenBank Nos: AA08099 (alpha subunit), D45071; BAA08100 (beta subunit), D45071; and BBA08101 (gamma subunit), D45071 (Note all three subunits are required for activity), and Klebsiella pneumonia (GenBank Nos: AAC98384 (alpha subunit), AF102064; GenBank Nos: AAC98385 (beta subunit), AF102064, GenBank Nos: AAC98386 (gamma subunit), AF102064). Other suitable dial dehydratases include, but are not limited to, B12-dependent dial dehydratases available from Salmonella typhimurium (GenBank Nos: AAB84102 (large subunit), AF026270; GenBank Nos: AAB84103 (medium subunit), AF026270; GenBank Nos: AAB84104 (small subunit), AF026270); and Lactobacillus collinoides (GenBank Nos: CAC82541 (large subunit), AJ297723; GenBank Nos: CAC82542 (medium subunit); AJ297723; GenBank Nos: CAD01091 (small subunit), AJ297723); and enzymes from Lactobacillus brevis (particularly strains CNRZ 734 and CNRZ 735, Speranza, et al., J. Agric. Food Chem. 45:3476-3480, 1997), and nucleotide sequences that encode the corresponding enzymes. Methods of dial dehydratase gene isolation are well known in the art (e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 5,686,276).

The term “pyruvate decarboxylase” refers to an enzyme that catalyzes the decarboxylation of pyruvic acid to acetaldehyde and carbon dioxide. Pyruvate dehydrogenases are known by the EC number 4.1.1.1. These enzymes are found in a number of yeast, including Saccharomyces cerevisiae (GenBank Nos: CAA97575, CAA97705, CAA97091).

The term “phosphoketolase” refers to an enzyme that catalyzes the conversion of xyulose 5-phosphate to glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate and acetyl phosphate. Example phosphoketolases are known by the EC number 4.1.2.9. In some embodiments, the phosphoketolase is xpk from Lactobacillus plantarum.

The term “phosphotransacetylase” refers to an enzyme that catalyzes the conversion of acetyl-CoA and phosphate to CoA and acetyl phosphate. Example phosphotransacetylases are known by the EC number 2.3.1.8. In some embodiments, the phosphotransacetylase is eutD from Lactobacillus plantarum.

It will be appreciated that host cells comprising an isobutanol biosynthetic pathway as provided herein may further comprise one or more additional modifications. U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2009/0305363 (incorporated by reference) discloses increased conversion of pyruvate to acetolactate by engineering yeast for expression of a cytosol-localized acetolactate synthase and substantial elimination of pyruvate decarboxylase activity. In some embodiments, the host cells comprise modifications to reduce glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase activity and/or disruption in at least one gene encoding a polypeptide having pyruvate decarboxylase activity or a disruption in at least one gene encoding a regulatory element controlling pyruvate decarboxylase gene expression as described in U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2009/0305363 (incorporated herein by reference), modifications to a host cell that provide for increased carbon flux through an Entner-Doudoroff Pathway or reducing equivalents balance as described in U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2010/0120105 (incorporated herein by reference). Other modifications include integration of at least one polynucleotide encoding a polypeptide that catalyzes a step in a pyruvate-utilizing biosynthetic pathway.

Other modifications include at least one deletion, mutation, and/or substitution in an endogenous polynucleotide encoding a polypeptide having acetolactate reductase activity. As used herein, “acetolactate reductase activity” refers to the activity of any polypeptide having the ability to catalyze the conversion of acetolactate to DHMB. Such polypeptides can be determined by methods well known in the art and disclosed herein. As used herein, “DHMB” refers to 2,3-dihydroxy-2-methyl butyrate. DHMB includes “fast DHMB,” which has the 2S, 3S configuration, and “slow DHMB,” which has the 2S, 3R configuration. See Kaneko et al., Phytochemistry 39: 115-120 (1995), which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety and refers to fast DHMB as anglyceric acid and slow DHMB as tiglyceric acid. In embodiments, the polypeptide having acetolactate reductase activity is YMR226C of Saccharomyces cerevisiae or a homolog thereof

Additional modifications include a deletion, mutation, and/or substitution in an endogenous polynucleotide encoding a polypeptide having aldehyde dehydrogenase and/or aldehyde oxidase activity. As used herein, “aldehyde dehydrogenase activity” refers to any polypeptide having a biological function of an aldehyde dehydrogenase. Such polypeptides include a polypeptide that catalyzes the oxidation (dehydrogenation) of aldehydes. Such polypeptides include a polypeptide that catalyzes the conversion of isobutyraldehyde to isobutyric acid. Such polypeptides also include a polypeptide that corresponds to Enzyme Commission Numbers EC 1.2.1.3, EC 1.2.1.4 or EC 1.2.1.5. Such polypeptides can be determined by methods well known in the art and disclosed herein. As used herein, “aldehyde oxidase activity” refers to any polypeptide having a biological function of an aldehyde oxidase. Such polypeptides include a polypeptide that catalyzes carboxylic acids from aldehydes. Such polypeptides include a polypeptide that catalyzes the conversion of isobutyraldehyde to isobutyric acid. Such polypeptides also include a polypeptide that corresponds to Enzyme Commission Number EC 1.2.3.1. Such polypeptides can be determined by methods well known in the art and disclosed herein. In some embodiments, the polypeptide having aldehyde dehydrogenase activity is ALD6 from Saccharomyces cerevisiae or a homolog thereof

A genetic modification which has the effect of reducing glucose repression wherein the yeast production host cell is PDC- is described in U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2011/0124060, incorporated herein by reference. In some embodiments, the pyruvate decarboxylase that is deleted or down-regulated is selected from the group consisting of: PDC1, PDC5, PDC6, and combinations thereof. In some embodiments, the pyruvate decarboxylase is selected from PDC1 pyruvate decarboxylase from Saccharomyces cerevisiae, PDC5 pyruvate decarboxylase from Saccharomyces cerevisiae, PDC6 pyruvate decarboxylase from Saccharomyces cerevisiae, pyruvate decarboxylase from Candida glabrata, PDC1 pyruvate decarboxylase from Pichia stipites, PDC2 pyruvate decarboxylase from Pichia stipites, pyruvate decarboxylase from Kluveromyces lactis, pyruvate decarboxylase from Yarrowia lipolytica, pyruvate decarboxylase from Schizosaccharomyces pombe, and pyruvate decarboxylase from Zygosaccharomyces rouxii. In some embodiments, host cells contain a deletion or down-regulation of a polynucleotide encoding a polypeptide that catalyzes the conversion of glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate to glycerate 1,3, bisphosphate. In some embodiments, the enzyme that catalyzes this reaction is glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase.

WIPO publication number WO 2011/103300 discloses recombinant host cells comprising (a) at least one heterologous polynucleotide encoding a polypeptide having dihydroxy-acid dehydratase activity; and (b)(i) at least one deletion, mutation, and/or substitution in an endogenous gene encoding a polypeptide affecting Fe—S cluster biosynthesis; and/or (ii) at least one heterologous polynucleotide encoding a polypeptide affecting Fe—S cluster biosynthesis. In embodiments, the polypeptide affecting Fe—S cluster biosynthesis is encoded by AFT1, AFT2, FRA2, GRX3, or CCC1. In embodiments, the polypeptide affecting Fe—S cluster biosynthesis is constitutive mutant AFT1 L99A, AFT1 L102A, AFT1 C291F, or AFT1 C293F.

Additionally, host cells may comprise heterologous polynucleotides encoding a polypeptide with phosphoketolase activity and/or a heterologous polynucleotide encoding a polypeptide with phosphotransacetylase activity.

In some embodiments, any particular nucleic acid molecule or polypeptide may be at least 80%, 85%, 90%, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98%, or 99% identical to a nucleotide sequence or polypeptide sequence described herein. The term “percent identity” as known in the art, is a relationship between two or more polypeptide sequences or two or more polynucleotide sequences, as determined by comparing the sequences. In the art, “identity” also means the degree of sequence relatedness between polypeptide or polynucleotide sequences, as the case may be, as determined by the match between strings of such sequences. “Identity” and “similarity” can be readily calculated by known methods, including but not limited to those disclosed in: 1.) Computational Molecular Biology (Lesk, A. M., Ed.) Oxford University: NY (1988); 2.) Biocomputing: Informatics and Genome Projects (Smith, D. W., Ed.) Academic: NY (1993); 3.) Computer Analysis of Sequence Data, Part I (Griffin, A. M., and Griffin, H. G., Eds.) Humania: NJ (1994); 4.) Sequence Analysis in Molecular Biology (von Heinje, G., Ed.) Academic (1987); and 5.) Sequence Analysis Primer (Gribskov, M. and Devereux, J., Eds.) Stockton: NY (1991).

Standard recombinant DNA and molecular cloning techniques are well known in the art and are described by Sambrook, et al. (Sambrook, J., Fritsch, E. F. and Maniatis, T. (Molecular Cloning: A Laboratory Manual; Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, Cold Spring Harbor, 1989, here in referred to as Maniatis) and by Ausubel, et al. (Ausubel, et al., Current Protocols in Molecular Biology, pub. by Greene Publishing Assoc. and Wiley-Interscience, 1987). Examples of methods to construct microorganisms that comprise a butanol biosynthetic pathway are disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 7,851,188, and U.S. Patent Application Publication Nos. 2007/0092957; 2007/0259410; 2007/0292927; 2008/0182308; 2008/0274525; 2009/0155870; 2009/0305363; and 2009/0305370, the entire contents of each are herein incorporated by reference.

Expression of a Butanol Biosynthetic Pathway in Yeast

Methods for gene expression in yeast, e.g., Saccharomyces cerevisiae, are known in the art (e.g., Methods in Enzymology, Volume 194, Guide to Yeast Genetics and Molecular and Cell Biology, Part A, 2004, Christine Guthrie and Gerald R. Fink, eds., Elsevier Academic Press, San Diego, Calif.). Expression of genes in yeast typically requires a promoter, followed by the gene of interest, and a transcriptional terminator. A number of yeast promoters, including those used in the Examples herein, can be used in constructing expression cassettes for genes encoding an isobutanol biosynthetic pathway, including, but not limited to constitutive promoters FBA, GPD, ADH1, and GPM, and the inducible promoters GAL1, GAL10, and CUP1. Suitable transcriptional terminators include, but are not limited to FBAt, GPDt, GPMt, ERG10t, GAL1t, CYC1, and ADH1. For example, suitable promoters, transcriptional terminators, and the genes of an isobutanol biosynthetic pathway can be cloned into E. coli-yeast shuttle vectors and transformed into yeast cells as described in U.S. App. Pub. No. 2010/0129886. These vectors allow strain propagation in both E. coli and yeast strains. Typically the vector contains a selectable marker and sequences allowing autonomous replication or chromosomal integration in the desired host. Typically used plasmids in yeast are shuttle vectors pRS423, pRS424, pRS425, and pRS426 (American Type Culture Collection, Rockville, Md.), which contain an E. coli replication origin (e.g., pMB1), a yeast 2μ origin of replication, and a marker for nutritional selection. The selection markers for these four vectors are His3 (vector pRS423), Trp1 (vector pRS424), Leu2 (vector pRS425) and Ura3 (vector pRS426). Construction of expression vectors with genes encoding polypeptides of interest can be performed by either standard molecular cloning techniques in E. coli or by the gap repair recombination method in yeast.

The gap repair cloning approach takes advantage of the highly efficient homologous recombination in yeast. Typically, a yeast vector DNA is digested (e.g., in its multiple cloning site) to create a “gap” in its sequence. A number of insert DNAs of interest are generated that contain a ≧21 bp sequence at both the 5′ and the 3′ ends that sequentially overlap with each other, and with the 5′ and 3′ terminus of the vector DNA. For example, to construct a yeast expression vector for “Gene X’, a yeast promoter and a yeast terminator are selected for the expression cassette. The promoter and terminator are amplified from the yeast genomic DNA, and Gene X is either PCR amplified from its source organism or obtained from a cloning vector comprising Gene X sequence. There is at least a 21 bp overlapping sequence between the 5′ end of the linearized vector and the promoter sequence, between the promoter and Gene X, between Gene X and the terminator sequence, and between the terminator and the 3′ end of the linearized vector. The “gapped” vector and the insert DNAs are then co-transformed into a yeast strain and plated on the medium containing the appropriate compound mixtures that allow complementation of the nutritional selection markers on the plasmids. The presence of correct insert combinations can be confirmed by PCR mapping using plasmid DNA prepared from the selected cells. The plasmid DNA isolated from yeast (usually low in concentration) can then be transformed into an E. coli strain, e.g., TOP10, followed by mini preps and restriction mapping to further verify the plasmid construct. Finally the construct can be verified by sequence analysis.

Like the gap repair technique, integration into the yeast genome also takes advantage of the homologous recombination system in yeast. Typically, a cassette containing a coding region plus control elements (promoter and terminator) and auxotrophic marker is PCR-amplified with a high-fidelity DNA polymerase using primers that hybridize to the cassette and contain 40-70 base pairs of sequence homology to the regions 5′ and 3′ of the genomic area where insertion is desired. The PCR product is then transformed into yeast and plated on medium containing the appropriate compound mixtures that allow selection for the integrated auxotrophic marker. For example, to integrate “Gene X” into chromosomal location “Y”, the promoter-coding region X-terminator construct is PCR amplified from a plasmid DNA construct and joined to an autotrophic marker (such as URA3) by either SOE PCR or by common restriction digests and cloning. The full cassette, containing the promoter-coding regionX-terminator-URA3 region, is PCR amplified with primer sequences that contain 40-70 bp of homology to the regions 5′ and 3′ of location “Y” on the yeast chromosome. The PCR product is transformed into yeast and selected on growth media lacking uracil. Transformants can be verified either by colony PCR or by direct sequencing of chromosomal DNA.

Growth for Production

Another embodiment of the present invention is directed to methods for producing various fermentation products including, but not limited to, lower alkyl alcohols. These methods employ the processes described above to produce the partially adapted recombinant host cells of the invention. In one embodiment, the method of the present invention comprises providing a recombinant host cell as discussed above, contacting the recombinant host cell with a fermentable carbon substrate in a fermentation medium under conditions whereby the fermentation product is produced and, optionally, recovering the fermentation product.

It will be appreciated that a process for producing fermentation products may comprise multiple phases. For example, process may comprise a first biomass production phase, a second biomass production phase, a fermentation production phase, and an optional recovery phase. In embodiments, processes provided herein comprise more than one, more than two, or more than three phases. It will be appreciated that process conditions may vary from phase to phase. For example, one phase of a process may be substantially aerobic, while the next phase may be substantially anaerobic. Other differences between phases may include, but are not limited to, source of carbon substrate (e.g., feedstock from which the fermentable carbon is derived), carbon substrate (e.g., glucose) concentration, dissolved oxygen, pH, temperature, or concentration of fermentation product (e.g., butanol). Promoter nucleic acid sequences and nucleic acid sequences encoding biocatalyst polypeptides and recombinant host cells comprising such promoter nucleic acid sequences may be employed in such processes. In embodiments, a biocatalyst polypeptide is preferentially expressed in at least one phase.

The propagation phase generally comprises at least one process by which biomass is increased. In embodiments, the temperature of the propagation phase may be at least about 20, at least about 30, at least about 35, or at least about 40° C. In embodiments, the pH in the propagation phase may be at least about 4, at least about 5, at least about 5.5, at least about 6, or at least about 6.5. In embodiments, the propagation phase continues until the biomass concentration reaches at least about 5, at least about 10, at least about 15, at least about 20, at least about 30, at least about 50, at least about 70, or at least about 100 g/L. In embodiments, the average glucose or sugar concentration is about or less than about 2 g/L, about or less than about 1 g/L, about or less than about 0.5 g/L or about or less than about 0.1 g/L. In embodiments, the dissolved oxygen concentration may average as undetectable, or as at least about 10%, at least about 20%, at least about 30%, or at least about 40%.

In one non-limiting example, a stage of the propagation phase comprises contacting a recombinant yeast host cell with at least one carbon substrate at a temperature of about 30 to about 35° C. and a pH of about 4 to about 5.5, until the biomass concentration is in the range of about 20 to about 100 g/L. The dissolved oxygen level over the course of the contact may average from about 20 to 40% (0.8-3.2 ppm). The source of the carbon substrate may be molasses or corn mash, or pure glucose or other sugar, such that the glucose or sugar concentration is from about 0 to about 1 g/L over the course of the contacting or from about 0 to about 0.1 g/L. In a subsequent or alternate stage of the propagation phase, a recombinant yeast host cell may be subjected to a further process whereby recombinant yeast at a concentration of about 0.1 g/L to about 1 g/L is contacted with at least one carbon substrate at a temperature of about 25 to about 35° C. and a pH of about 4 to about 5.5 until the biomass concentration is in the range of about 5 to about 15 g/L. The dissolved oxygen level over the course of the contact may average from undetectable to about 30% (0-2.4 ppm). The source of the carbon substrate may be corn mash such that the glucose concentration averages about 2 to about 30 g/L over the course of contacting.

It will be understood that the propagation phase may comprise one, two, three, four, or more stages, and that the above non-limiting example stages may be practiced in any order or combination.

The production phase typically comprises at least one process by which a product is produced. In embodiments, the average glucose concentration during the production phase is at least about 0.1, at least about 1, at least about 5, at least about 10 g/L, at least about 30 g/L, at least about 50 g/L, or at least about 100 g/L. In embodiments, the temperature of the production phase may be at least about 20, at least about 30, at least about 35, or at least about 40° C. In embodiments, the pH in the production phase may be at least about 4, at least about 5, or at least about 5.5. In embodiments, the production phase continues until the product titer reaches at least about 10 g/L, at least about 15 g/L, at least about 20 g/L, at least about 25 g/L, at least about 30 g/L, at least about 35 g/L or at least about 40 g/L. In embodiments, the dissolved oxygen concentration may average as less than about 5%, less than about 1%, or as negligible such that the conditions are substantially anaerobic.

In one non-limiting example production phase, recombinant yeast cells at a concentration of about 0.1 to about 6 g/L are contacted with at least one carbon substrate at a concentration of about 5 to about 100 g/L, temperature of about 25 to about 30° C., pH of about 4 to about 5.5. The dissolved oxygen level over the course of the contact may be negligible on average, such that the contact occurs under substantially anaerobic conditions. The source of the carbon substrate may mash such as corn mash, such that the glucose concentration averages about 10 to about 100 g/L over the course of the contacting, until it is substantially completely consumed.

In embodiments, the glucose concentration is about 100-fold to about 1000-fold higher in the production phase than in the propagation phase. In embodiments, the glucose concentration in production is at least about 5×, at least about 10×, at least about 50×, at least about 100×, or at least about 500× higher than that in propagation. In embodiments, the temperature in the propagation phase is about 5 to about 10 degrees lower in the production phase than in the propagation phase. In embodiments, the average dissolved oxygen concentration is anaerobic in the production phase and microaerobic to aerobic in the propagation phase.

One of skill in the art will appreciate that the conditions for propagating a host cell and/or producing a fermentation product utilizing a host cell may vary according to the host cell being used. In one embodiment, the method for producing a fermentation product is performed under anaerobic conditions. In one embodiment, the method for producing a fermentation product is performed under microaerobic conditions.

Further, it is envisioned that once a recombinant host cell comprising an engineered butanol biosynthetic pathway controlled by a suitable genetic switch, the process may be further refined to take advantage of the differential expression afforded thereby. For example, if the genetic switch provides preferential expression in high glucose conditions, one of skill in the art will be able to readily determine the glucose levels necessary to maintain minimal expression. As such, the glucose concentration in the phase of the process under which minimal expression is desired can be controlled so as to maintain minimal expression. In one non-limiting example, polymer-based slow-release feed beads (available, for example, from Kuhner Shaker, Basel, Switzerland) may be used to maintain a low glucose condition. A similar strategy can be employed to refine the propagation or production phase conditions relevant to the differential expression using the compositions and methods provided herein.

Recombinant host cells disclosed herein are contacted with suitable carbon substrates, typically in fermentation media. Additional carbon substrates may include, but are not limited to, monosaccharides such as fructose, oligosaccharides such as lactose, maltose, galactose, or sucrose, polysaccharides such as starch or cellulose or mixtures thereof and unpurified mixtures from renewable feedstocks such as cheese whey permeate, cornsteep liquor, sugar beet molasses, and barley malt. Other carbon substrates can include ethanol, lactate, succinate, or glycerol.

Additionally the carbon substrate may also be one-carbon substrates such as carbon dioxide, or methanol for which metabolic conversion into key biochemical intermediates has been demonstrated. In addition to one and two carbon substrates, methylotrophic organisms are also known to utilize a number of other carbon containing compounds such as methylamine, glucosamine and a variety of amino acids for metabolic activity. For example, methylotrophic yeasts are known to utilize the carbon from methylamine to form trehalose or glycerol (Bellion et al., Microb. Growth C1 Compd., [Int. Symp.], 7^(th) (1993), 415-32, Editors: Murrell, J. Collin, Kelly, Don P.; Publisher: Intercept, Andover, UK). Similarly, various species of Candida will metabolize alanine or oleic acid (Sulter et al., Arch. Microbiol. 153:485-489 (1990)). Hence it is contemplated that the source of carbon utilized in the present invention may encompass a wide variety of carbon containing substrates and will only be limited by the choice of organism.

Although it is contemplated that all of the above mentioned carbon substrates and mixtures thereof are suitable in the present invention, in some embodiments, the carbon substrates are glucose, fructose, and sucrose, or mixtures of these with C5 sugars such as xylose and/or arabinose for yeasts cells modified to use C5 sugars. Sucrose may be derived from renewable sugar sources such as sugar cane, sugar beets, cassava, sweet sorghum, and mixtures thereof. Glucose and dextrose can be derived from renewable grain sources through saccharification of starch based feedstocks including grains such as corn, wheat, rye, barley, oats, and mixtures thereof. In addition, fermentable sugars can be derived from renewable cellulosic or lignocellulosic biomass through processes of pretreatment and saccharification, as described, for example, in U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2007/0031918 A1, which is herein incorporated by reference. Biomass, when used in reference to carbon substrate, refers to any cellulosic or lignocellulosic material and includes materials comprising cellulose, and optionally further comprising hemicellulose, lignin, starch, oligosaccharides and/or monosaccharides. Biomass can also comprise additional components, such as protein and/or lipid. Biomass can be derived from a single source, or biomass can comprise a mixture derived from more than one source; for example, biomass may comprise a mixture of corn cobs and corn stover, or a mixture of grass and leaves. Biomass includes, but is not limited to, bioenergy crops, agricultural residues, municipal solid waste, industrial solid waste, sludge from paper manufacture, yard waste, wood and forestry waste. Examples of biomass include, but are not limited to, corn grain, corn cobs, crop residues such as corn husks, corn stover grasses, wheat, wheat straw, barley, barley straw, hay, rice straw, switchgrass, waste paper, sugar cane bagasse, sorghum, soy, components obtained from milling of grains, trees, branches, roots, leaves, wood chips, sawdust, shrubs and bushes, vegetables, fruits, flowers, animal manure, and mixtures thereof

In addition to an appropriate carbon source, fermentation media must contain suitable minerals, salts, cofactors, buffers and other components, known to those skilled in the art, suitable for the growth of the cultures and promotion of an enzymatic pathway described herein.

In some embodiments, the butanologen produces butanol at least 90% of effective yield, at least 91% of effective yield, at least 92% of effective yield, at least 93% of effective yield, at least 94% of effective yield, at least 95% of effective yield, at least 96% of effective yield, at least 97% of effective yield, at least 98% of effective yield, or at least 99% of effective yield. In some embodiments, the butanologen produces butanol at about 55% to at about 75% of effective yield, about 50% to about 80% of effective yield, about 45% to about 85% of effective yield, about 40% to about 90% of effective yield, about 35% to about 95% of effective yield, about 30% to about 99% of effective yield, about 25% to about 99% of effective yield, about 10% to about 99% of effective yield, or about 10% to about 100% of effective yield.

Culture Conditions

Typically cells are grown at a temperature in the range of about 20° C. to about 40° C. in an appropriate medium. In some embodiments, the cells are grown at a temperature of 20° C., 22° C., 25° C., 27° C., 30° C., 32° C., 35° C., 37° C. or 40° C. In some embodiments, the cells are grown at a temperature of about 25° C. to about 40° C. in an appropriate medium. Suitable growth media in the present invention are common commercially prepared media such as Luria Bertani (LB) broth, Sabouraud Dextrose (SD) broth or Yeast Medium (YM) broth or broth that includes yeast nitrogen base, ammonium sulfate, and dextrose (as the carbon/energy source) or YPD Medium, a blend of peptone, yeast extract, and dextrose in optimal proportions for growing most Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains. Other defined or synthetic growth media can also be used, and the appropriate medium for growth of the particular microorganism will be known by one skilled in the art of microbiology or fermentation science. The use of agents known to modulate catabolite repression directly or indirectly, e.g., cyclic adenosine 2′,3′-monophosphate (cAMP), can also be incorporated into the fermentation medium.

Suitable pH ranges for the fermentation are between pH 5.0 to pH 9.0, where pH 6.0 to pH 8.0 is preferred for the initial condition. Suitable pH ranges for the fermentation of yeast are typically between about pH 3.0 to about pH 9.0. In one embodiment, about pH 5.0 to about pH 8.0 is used for the initial condition. Suitable pH ranges for the fermentation of other microorganisms are between about pH 3.0 to about pH 7.5. In one embodiment, about pH 4.5 to about pH 6.5 is used for the initial condition.

Fermentations can be performed under aerobic or anaerobic conditions. In one embodiment, anaerobic or microaerobic conditions are used for fermentation.

In some embodiments, the culture conditions are such that the fermentation occurs without respiration. For example, cells can be cultured in a fermenter under micro-aerobic or anaerobic conditions.

Industrial Batch and Continuous Fermentations

Butanol, or other products, can be produced using a batch method of fermentation. A classical batch fermentation is a closed system where the composition of the medium is set at the beginning of the fermentation and not subject to artificial alterations during the fermentation. A variation on the standard batch system is the fed-batch system. Fed-batch fermentation processes are also suitable in the present invention and comprise a typical batch system with the exception that the substrate is added in increments at the fermentation progresses. Fed-batch systems are useful when catabolite repression is apt to inhibit the metabolism of the cells and where it is desirable to have limited amounts of substrate in the media. Batch and fed-batch fermentations are common and well known in the art and examples can be found in Thomas D. Brock in Biotechnology: A Textbook of Industrial Microbiology, Second Edition (1989) Sinauer Associates, Inc., Sunderland, Mass., or Deshpande, Mukund V., Appl. Biochem. Biotechnol., 36:227, (1992), herein incorporated by reference.

Butanol, or other products, may also be produced using continuous fermentation methods. Continuous fermentation is an open system where a defined fermentation medium is added continuously to a bioreactor and an equal amount of conditioned media is removed simultaneously for processing. Continuous fermentation generally maintains the cultures at a constant high density where cells are primarily in log phase growth. Continuous fermentation allows for the modulation of one factor or any number of factors that affect cell growth or end product concentration. Methods of modulating nutrients and growth factors for continuous fermentation processes as well as techniques for maximizing the rate of product formation are well known in the art of industrial microbiology and a variety of methods are detailed by Brock, supra.

It is contemplated that the production of butanol, or other products, can be practiced using batch, fed-batch or continuous processes and that any known mode of fermentation would be suitable. Additionally, it is contemplated that cells can be immobilized on a substrate as whole cell catalysts and subjected to fermentation conditions for butanol production.

Methods for Butanol Isolation from the Fermentation Medium

Bioproduced butanol may be isolated from the fermentation medium using methods known in the art for ABE fermentations (see, e.g., Durre, Appl. Microbiol. Biotechnol. 49:639-648 (1998), Groot et al., Process. Biochem. 27:61-75 (1992), and references therein). For example, solids may be removed from the fermentation medium by centrifugation, filtration, decantation, or the like. The butanol may be isolated from the fermentation medium using methods such as distillation, azeotropic distillation, liquid-liquid extraction, adsorption, gas stripping, membrane evaporation, or pervaporation.

Because butanol forms a low boiling point, azeotropic mixture with water, distillation can be used to separate the mixture up to its azeotropic composition. Distillation may be used in combination with the processes described herein to obtain separation around the azeotrope. Methods that may be used in combination with distillation to isolate and purify butanol include, but are not limited to, decantation, liquid-liquid extraction, adsorption, and membrane-based techniques. Additionally, butanol may be isolated using azeotropic distillation using an entrainer (see, e.g., Doherty and Malone, Conceptual Design of Distillation Systems, McGraw Hill, New York, 2001).

The butanol-water mixture forms a heterogeneous azeotrope so that distillation may be used in combination with decantation to isolate and purify the isobutanol. In this method, the butanol containing fermentation broth is distilled to near the azeotropic composition. Then, the azeotropic mixture is condensed, and the butanol is separated from the fermentation medium by decantation, wherein the butanol can be contacted with an agent to reduce the activity of the one or more carboxylic acids. The decanted aqueous phase may be returned to the first distillation column as reflux or to a separate stripping column. The butanol-rich decanted organic phase may be further purified by distillation in a second distillation column.

The butanol can also be isolated from the fermentation medium using liquid-liquid extraction in combination with distillation. In this method, the butanol is extracted from the fermentation broth using liquid-liquid extraction with a suitable solvent. The butanol-containing organic phase is then distilled to separate the butanol from the solvent.

Distillation in combination with adsorption can also be used to isolate butanol from the fermentation medium. In this method, the fermentation broth containing the butanol is distilled to near the azeotropic composition and then the remaining water is removed by use of an adsorbent, such as molecular sieves (Aden et al., Lignocellulosic Biomass to Ethanol Process Design and Economics Utilizing Co-Current Dilute Acid Prehydrolysis and Enzymatic Hydrolysis for Corn Stover, Report NREL/TP-510-32438, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, June 2002).

Additionally, distillation in combination with pervaporation can be used to isolate and purify the butanol from the fermentation medium. In this method, the fermentation broth containing the butanol is distilled to near the azeotropic composition, and then the remaining water is removed by pervaporation through a hydrophilic membrane (Guo et al., J. Membr. Sci. 245, 199-210 (2004)).

In situ product removal (ISPR) (also referred to as extractive fermentation) can be used to remove butanol (or other fermentative alcohol) from the fermentation vessel as it is produced, thereby allowing the microorganism to produce butanol at high yields. One method for ISPR for removing fermentative alcohol that has been described in the art is liquid-liquid extraction. In general, with regard to butanol fermentation, for example, the fermentation medium, which includes the microorganism, is contacted with an organic extractant at a time before the butanol concentration reaches an inhibitory level. The organic extractant and the fermentation medium form a biphasic mixture. The butanol partitions into the organic extractant phase, decreasing the concentration in the aqueous phase containing the microorganism, thereby limiting the exposure of the microorganism to the inhibitory butanol.

Liquid-liquid extraction can be performed, for example, according to the processes described in U.S. Patent Appl. Pub. Nos. 2009/0305370 and 2011/0097773, the disclosures of which are hereby incorporated in their entirety. U.S. Patent Appl. Pub. Nos. 2009/0305370 and 2011/0097773 describe methods for producing and recovering butanol from a fermentation broth using liquid-liquid extraction, the methods comprising the step of contacting the fermentation broth with a water immiscible extractant to form a two-phase mixture comprising an aqueous phase and an organic phase. Typically, the extractant can be an organic extractant selected from the group consisting of saturated, mono-unsaturated, polyunsaturated (and mixtures thereof) C₁₂ to C₂₂ fatty alcohols, C₁₂ to C₂₂ fatty acids, esters of C₁₂ to C₂₂ fatty acids, C₁₂ to C₂₂ fatty aldehydes, and mixtures thereof. The extractant(s) for ISPR can be non-alcohol extractants. The ISPR extractant can be an exogenous organic extractant such as oleyl alcohol, behenyl alcohol, cetyl alcohol, lauryl alcohol, myristyl alcohol, stearyl alcohol, 1-undecanol, oleic acid, lauric acid, myristic acid, stearic acid, methyl myristate, methyl oleate, undecanal, lauric aldehyde, 20-methylundecanal, and mixtures thereof

In some embodiments, an alcohol ester can be formed by contacting the alcohol in a fermentation medium with an organic acid (e.g., fatty acids) and a catalyst capable of esterifying the alcohol with the organic acid. In such embodiments, the organic acid can serve as an ISPR extractant into which the alcohol esters partition. The organic acid can be supplied to the fermentation vessel and/or derived from the biomass supplying fermentable carbon fed to the fermentation vessel. Lipids present in the feedstock can be catalytically hydrolyzed to organic acid, and the same catalyst (e.g., enzymes) can esterify the organic acid with the alcohol. Carboxylic acids that are produced during the fermentation can additionally be esterified with the alcohol produced by the same or a different catalyst. The catalyst can be supplied to the feedstock prior to fermentation, or can be supplied to the fermentation vessel before or contemporaneously with the supplying of the feedstock. When the catalyst is supplied to the fermentation vessel, alcohol esters can be obtained by hydrolysis of the lipids into organic acid and substantially simultaneous esterification of the organic acid with butanol present in the fermentation vessel. Organic acid and/or native oil not derived from the feedstock can also be fed to the fermentation vessel, with the native oil being hydrolyzed into organic acid. Any organic acid not esterified with the alcohol can serve as part of the ISPR extractant. The extractant containing alcohol esters can be separated from the fermentation medium, and the alcohol can be recovered from the extractant. The extractant can be recycled to the fermentation vessel. Thus, in the case of butanol production, for example, the conversion of the butanol to an ester reduces the free butanol concentration in the fermentation medium, shielding the microorganism from the inhibitory effect of increasing butanol concentration. In addition, unfractionated grain can be used as feedstock without separation of lipids therein, since the lipids can be catalytically hydrolyzed to organic acid, thereby decreasing the rate of build-up of lipids in the ISPR extractant.

In situ product removal can be carried out in a batch mode or a continuous mode. In a continuous mode of in situ product removal, product is continually removed from the reactor. In a batchwise mode of in situ product removal, a volume of organic extractant is added to the fermentation vessel and the extractant is not removed during the process. For in situ product removal, the organic extractant can contact the fermentation medium at the start of the fermentation forming a biphasic fermentation medium. Alternatively, the organic extractant can contact the fermentation medium after the microorganism has achieved a desired amount of growth, which can be determined by measuring the optical density of the culture. Further, the organic extractant can contact the fermentation medium at a time at which the product alcohol level in the fermentation medium reaches a preselected level. In the case of butanol production according to some embodiments of the present invention, the organic acid extractant can contact the fermentation medium at a time before the butanol concentration reaches an inhibitory level, so as to esterify the butanol with the organic acid to produce butanol esters and consequently reduce the concentration of butanol in the fermentation vessel. The ester-containing organic phase can then be removed from the fermentation vessel (and separated from the fermentation broth which constitutes the aqueous phase) after a desired effective titer of the butanol esters is achieved. In some embodiments, the ester-containing organic phase is separated from the aqueous phase after fermentation of the available fermentable sugar in the fermentation vessel is substantially complete.

Confirmation of Isobutanol Production

The presence and/or concentration of isobutanol in the culture medium can be determined by a number of methods known in the art (see, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 7,851,188, incorporated by reference). For example, a specific high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method utilizes a Shodex SH-1011 column with a Shodex SHG guard column, both may be purchased from Waters Corporation (Milford, Mass.), with refractive index (RI) detection. Chromatographic separation is achieved using 0.01 M H₂SO₄ as the mobile phase with a flow rate of 0.5 mL/min and a column temperature of 50° C. Isobutanol has a retention time of 46.6 min under the conditions used.

Alternatively, gas chromatography (GC) methods are available. For example, a specific GC method utilizes an HP-INNOWax column (30 m X 0.53 mm id, 1 μm film thickness, Agilent Technologies, Wilmington, Del.), with a flame ionization detector (FID). The carrier gas is helium at a flow rate of 4.5 mL/min, measured at 150° C. with constant head pressure; injector split is 1:25 at 200° C.; oven temperature is 45° C. for 1 min, 45 to 220° C. at 10° C./min, and 220° C. for 5 min; and FID detection is employed at 240° C. with 26 mL/min helium makeup gas. The retention time of isobutanol is 4.5 min.

While various embodiments of the present invention have been described herein, it should be understood that they have been presented by way of example only, and not limitation. It will be apparent to persons skilled in the relevant art that various changes in form and detail can be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Thus, the breadth and scope of the present invention should not be limited by any of the above-described exemplary embodiments, but should be defined only in accordance with the claims and their equivalents.

All publications, patents, and patent applications mentioned in this specification are indicative of the level of those skilled in the art to which this invention pertains, and are herein incorporated by reference to the same extent as if each individual publication, patent, or patent application was specifically and individually indicated to be incorporated by reference.

EXAMPLES

The present invention is further defined in the following Examples. It should be understood that these Examples, while indicating embodiments of the invention, are given by way of illustration only. From the above discussion and these Examples, one skilled in the art can ascertain the essential characteristics of this invention, and without departing from the spirit and scope thereof, can make various changes and modifications of the invention to adapt it to various uses and conditions.

General Methods

Standard recombinant DNA, molecular cloning techniques and transformation protocols used in the Examples are well known in the art and are described by Sambrook et al. (Sambrook, J., Fritsch, E. F. and Maniatis, T. (Molecular Cloning: A Laboratory Manual; Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, Cold Spring Harbor, 1989, here in referred to as Maniatis), by Ausubel et al. (Ausubel et al., Current Protocols in Molecular Biology, pub. by Greene Publishing Assoc. and Wiley-Interscience, 1987) and by Amberg et al (Amberg, D. C., Burke, D. J. and Strathern, J. N. (Methods in Yeast Genetics: A Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Course Manual, Cold Spring Harbor Press, 2005). Materials and methods suitable for the maintenance and growth of bacterial cultures are well known in the art. Techniques suitable for use in the following examples may be found as set out in Manual of Methods for General Bacteriology (Phillipp et al., eds., American Society for Microbiology, Washington, D.C., 1994) or by Thomas D. Brock in (Brock, Biotechnology: A Textbook of Industrial Microbiology, Second Edition, Sinauer Associates, Inc., Sunderland, Mass. (1989). All reagents, restriction enzymes and materials used for the growth and maintenance of bacterial cells were obtained from Sigma-Aldrich Chemicals (St. Louis, Mo.), BD Diagnostic Systems (Sparks, Md.), Invitrogen (Carlsbad, Calif.), HiMedia (Mumbai, India), SD Fine chemicals (India), or Takara Bio Inc. (Shiga, Japan), unless otherwise specified.

The meaning of abbreviations is as follows: “sec” means second(s), “min” means minute(s), “h” means hour(s), “nm” means nanometers, “uL” means microliter(s), “mL” means milliliter(s), “mg/mL” means milligram per milliliter, “L” means liter(s), “nm” means nanometers, “mM” means millimolar, “M” means molar, “mmol” means millimole(s), “μmole” means micromole(s), “kg” means kilogram, “g” means gram(s), “μg” means microgram(s) and “ng” means nanogram(s), “PCR” means polymerase chain reaction, “OD” means optical density, “OD600” means the optical density measured at a wavelength of 600 nm, “kDa” means kilodaltons, “g” can also mean the gravitation constant, “bp” means base pair(s), “kbp” means kilobase pair(s), “kb” means kilobase, “%” means percent, “% w/v” means weight/volume percent, “% v/v” means volume/volume percent, “HPLC” means high performance liquid chromatography, “g/L” means gram per liter, “μg/L” means microgram per liter, “ng/μL” means nanogram per microliter, “pmol/μL” means picomol per microliter, “RPM” means rotation per minute, “μmol/min/mg” means micromole per minute per milligram, “w/v” means weight per volume, “v/v” means volume per volume.

Strain Construction Construction of Strain PNY2115

Saccharomyces cerevisiae strain PNY0827 is used as the host cell for further genetic manipulation for PNY2115. PNY0827 refers to a strain derived from Saccharomyces cerevisiae which has been deposited at the ATCC under the Budapest Treaty on Sep. 22, 2011 at the American Type Culture Collection, Patent Depository 10801 University Boulevard, Manassas, Va. 20110-2209 and has the patent deposit designation PTA-12105.

Deletion of URA3 and Sporulation into Haploids

In order to delete the endogenous URA3 coding region, a deletion cassette was PCR-amplified from pLA54 (SEQ ID NO: 1) which contains a P_(TEF1)-kanMX4-TEF1t cassette flanked by loxP sites to allow homologous recombination in vivo and subsequent removal of the KANMX4 marker. PCR was done by using Phusion High Fidelity PCR Master Mix (New England BioLabs; Ipswich, Mass.) and primers BK505 (SEQ ID NO: 2) and BK506 (SEQ ID NO: 3). The URA3 portion of each primer was derived from the 5′ region 180 bp upstream of the URA3 ATG and 3′ region 78 bp downstream of the coding region such that integration of the kanMX4 cassette results in replacement of the URA3 coding region. The PCR product was transformed into PNY0827 using standard genetic techniques (Methods in Yeast Genetics, 2005, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y., pp. 201-202) and transformants were selected on YEP medium supplemented 2% glucose and 100 μg/ml Geneticin at 30° C. Transformants were screened by colony PCR with primers LA468 (SEQ ID NO: 4) and LA492 (SEQ ID NO: 5) to verify presence of the integration cassette. A heterozygous diploid was obtained: NYLA98, which has the genotype MATa/α URA3/ura3::loxP-kanMX4-loxP. To obtain haploids, NYLA98 was sporulated using standard methods (Codón AC, Gasent-Ramirez J M, Benitez T. Factors which affect the frequency of sporulation and tetrad formation in Saccharomyces cerevisiae baker's yeast. Appl Environ Microbiol. 1995 PMID: 7574601). Tetrads were dissected using a micromanipulator and grown on rich YPE medium supplemented with 2% glucose. Tetrads containing four viable spores were patched onto synthetic complete medium lacking uracil supplemented with 2% glucose, and the mating type was verified by multiplex colony PCR using primers AK109-1 (SEQ ID NO: 6), AK109-2 (SEQ ID NO: 7), and AK109-3 (SEQ ID NO: 8). The resulting identified haploid strain called NYLA103, which has the genotype: MATα ura3Δ::loxP-kanMX4-loxP, and NYLA106, which has the genotype: MATa ura3Δ::loxP-kanMX4-loxP.

Deletion of His3

To delete the endogenous HIS3 coding region, a scarless deletion cassette was used. The four fragments for the PCR cassette for the scarless HIS3 deletion were amplified using Phusion High Fidelity PCR Master Mix (New England BioLabs; Ipswich, Mass.) and CEN.PK 113-7D genomic DNA as template, prepared with a Gentra Puregene Yeast/Bact kit (Qiagen; Valencia, Calif.). HIS3 Fragment A was amplified with primer oBP452 (SEQ ID NO: 9) and primer oBP453 (SEQ ID NO: 10), containing a 5′ tail with homology to the 5′ end of HIS3 Fragment B. HIS3 Fragment B was amplified with primer oBP454 (SEQ ID NO: 11), containing a 5′ tail with homology to the 3′ end of HIS3 Fragment A, and primer oBP455 (SEQ ID NO: 12) containing a 5′ tail with homology to the 5′ end of HIS3 Fragment U. HIS3 Fragment U was amplified with primer oBP456 (SEQ ID NO: 13), containing a 5′ tail with homology to the 3′ end of HIS3 Fragment B, and primer oBP457 (SEQ ID NO: 14), containing a 5′ tail with homology to the 5′ end of HIS3 Fragment C. HIS3 Fragment C was amplified with primer oBP458 (SEQ ID NO: 15), containing a 5′ tail with homology to the 3′ end of HIS3 Fragment U, and primer oBP459 (SEQ ID NO: 16). PCR products were purified with a PCR Purification kit (Qiagen). HIS3 Fragment AB was created by overlapping PCR by mixing HIS3 Fragment A and HIS3 Fragment B and amplifying with primers oBP452 (SEQ ID NO: 9) and oBP455 (SEQ ID NO: 12). HIS3 Fragment UC was created by overlapping PCR by mixing HIS3 Fragment U and HIS3 Fragment C and amplifying with primers oBP456 (SEQ ID NO: 13) and oBP459 (SEQ ID NO: 16). The resulting PCR products were purified on an agarose gel followed by a Gel Extraction kit (Qiagen). The HIS3 ABUC cassette was created by overlapping PCR by mixing HIS3 Fragment AB and HIS3 Fragment UC and amplifying with primers oBP452 (SEQ ID NO: 9) and oBP459 (SEQ ID NO: 16). The PCR product was purified with a PCR Purification kit (Qiagen). Competent cells of NYLA106 were transformed with the HIS3 ABUC PCR cassette and were plated on synthetic complete medium lacking uracil supplemented with 2% glucose at 30° C. Transformants were screened to verify correct integration by replica plating onto synthetic complete medium lacking histidine and supplemented with 2% glucose at 30° C. Genomic DNA preps were made to verify the integration by PCR using primers oBP460 (SEQ ID NO: 17) and LA135 (SEQ ID NO: 18) for the 5′ end and primers oBP461 (SEQ ID NO: 19) and LA92 (SEQ ID NO: 20) for the 3′ end. The URA3 marker was recycled by plating on synthetic complete medium supplemented with 2% glucose and 5-FOA at 30° C. following standard protocols. Marker removal was confirmed by patching colonies from the 5-FOA plates onto SD-URA medium to verify the absence of growth. The resulting identified strain, called PNY2003 has the genotype: MATa ura3Δ::loxP-kanMX4-loxP his3Δ.

Deletion of PDC1

To delete the endogenous PDC1 coding region, a deletion cassette was PCR-amplified from pLA59 (SEQ ID NO: 21), which contains a URA3 marker flanked by degenerate loxP sites to allow homologous recombination in vivo and subsequent removal of the URA3 marker. PCR was done by using Phusion High Fidelity PCR Master Mix (New England BioLabs; Ipswich, Mass.) and primers LA678 (SEQ ID NO: 22) and LA679 (SEQ ID NO: 23). The PDC1 portion of each primer was derived from the 5′ region 50 bp downstream of the PDC1 start codon and 3′ region 50 bp upstream of the stop codon such that integration of the URA3 cassette results in replacement of the PDC1 coding region but leaves the first 50 bp and the last 50 bp of the coding region. The PCR product was transformed into PNY2003 using standard genetic techniques and transformants were selected on synthetic complete medium lacking uracil and supplemented with 2% glucose at 30° C. Transformants were screened to verify correct integration by colony PCR using primers LA337 (SEQ ID NO: 24), external to the 5′ coding region and LA135 (SEQ ID NO: 18), an internal primer to URA3. Positive transformants were then screened by colony PCR using primers LA692 (SEQ ID NO: 25) and LA693 (SEQ ID NO: 26), internal to the PDC1 coding region. The URA3 marker was recycled by transforming with pLA34 (SEQ ID NO: 27) containing the CRE recombinase under the GAL1 promoter and plated on synthetic complete medium lacking histidine and supplemented with 2% glucose at 30° C. Transformants were plated on rich medium supplemented with 0.5% galactose to induce the recombinase. Marker removal was confirmed by patching colonies to synthetic complete medium lacking uracil and supplemented with 2% glucose to verify absence of growth. The resulting identified strain, called PNY2008 has the genotype: MATa ura3Δ::loxP-kanMX4-loxP his3Δ pdc1Δ::loxP71/66.

Deletion of PDC5

To delete the endogenous PDC5 coding region, a deletion cassette was PCR-amplified from pLA59 (SEQ ID NO: 21), which contains a URA3 marker flanked by degenerate loxP sites to allow homologous recombination in vivo and subsequent removal of the URA3 marker. PCR was done by using Phusion High Fidelity PCR Master Mix (New England BioLabs; Ipswich, Mass.) and primers LA722 (SEQ ID NO: 28) and LA733 (SEQ ID NO: 29). The PDC5 portion of each primer was derived from the 5′ region 50 bp upstream of the PDC5 start codon and 3′ region 50 bp downstream of the stop codon such that integration of the URA3 cassette results in replacement of the entire PDC5 coding region. The PCR product was transformed into PNY2008 using standard genetic techniques and transformants were selected on synthetic complete medium lacking uracil and supplemented with 1% ethanol at 30° C. Transformants were screened to verify correct integration by colony PCR using primers LA453 (SEQ ID NO: 30), external to the 5′ coding region and LA135 (SEQ ID NO: 18), an internal primer to URA3. Positive transformants were then screened by colony PCR using primers LA694 (SEQ ID NO: 31) and LA695 (SEQ ID NO: 32), internal to the PDC5 coding region. The URA3 marker was recycled by transforming with pLA34 (SEQ ID NO: 27) containing the CRE recombinase under the GAL1 promoter and plated on synthetic complete medium lacking histidine and supplemented with 1% ethanol at 30° C. Transformants were plated on rich YEP medium supplemented with 1% ethanol and 0.5% galactose to induce the recombinase. Marker removal was confirmed by patching colonies to synthetic complete medium lacking uracil and supplemented with 1% ethanol to verify absence of growth. The resulting identified strain, called PNY2009 has the genotype: MATa ura3Δ::loxP-kanMX4-loxP his3Δ pdc1Δ::loxP71/66 pdc5Δ::loxP71/66.

Deletion of FRA2

The FRA2 deletion was designed to delete 250 nucleotides from the 3′ end of the coding sequence, leaving the first 113 nucleotides of the FRA2 coding sequence intact. An in-frame stop codon was present 7 nucleotides downstream of the deletion. The four fragments for the PCR cassette for the scarless FRA2 deletion were amplified using Phusion High Fidelity PCR Master Mix (New England BioLabs; Ipswich, Mass.) and CEN.PK 113-7D genomic DNA as template, prepared with a Gentra Puregene Yeast/Bact kit (Qiagen; Valencia, Calif.). FRA2 Fragment A was amplified with primer oBP594 (SEQ ID NO: 33) and primer oBP595 (SEQ ID NO: 34), containing a 5′ tail with homology to the 5′ end of FRA2 Fragment B. FRA2 Fragment B was amplified with primer oBP596 (SEQ ID NO: 35), containing a 5′ tail with homology to the 3′ end of FRA2 Fragment A, and primer oBP597 (SEQ ID NO: 36), containing a 5′ tail with homology to the 5′ end of FRA2 Fragment U. FRA2 Fragment U was amplified with primer oBP598 (SEQ ID NO: 37), containing a 5′ tail with homology to the 3′ end of FRA2 Fragment B, and primer oBP599 (SEQ ID NO: 38), containing a 5′ tail with homology to the 5′ end of FRA2 Fragment C. FRA2 Fragment C was amplified with primer oBP600 (SEQ ID NO: 39), containing a 5′ tail with homology to the 3′ end of FRA2 Fragment U, and primer oBP601 (SEQ ID NO: 40). PCR products were purified with a PCR Purification kit (Qiagen). FRA2 Fragment AB was created by overlapping PCR by mixing FRA2 Fragment A and FRA2 Fragment B and amplifying with primers oBP594 (SEQ ID NO: 33) and oBP597 (SEQ ID NO: 36). FRA2 Fragment UC was created by overlapping PCR by mixing FRA2 Fragment U and FRA2 Fragment C and amplifying with primers oBP598 (SEQ ID NO: 37) and oBP601 (SEQ ID NO: 40). The resulting PCR products were purified on an agarose gel followed by a Gel Extraction kit (Qiagen). The FRA2 ABUC cassette was created by overlapping PCR by mixing FRA2 Fragment AB and FRA2 Fragment UC and amplifying with primers oBP594 (SEQ ID NO: 33) and oBP601 (SEQ ID NO: 40). The PCR product was purified with a PCR Purification kit (Qiagen).

To delete the endogenous FRA2 coding region, the scarless deletion cassette obtained above was transformed into PNY2009 using standard techniques and plated on synthetic complete medium lacking uracil and supplemented with 1% ethanol. Genomic DNA preps were made to verify the integration by PCR using primers oBP602 (SEQ ID NO: 41) and LA135 (SEQ ID NO: 18) for the 5′ end, and primers oBP602 (SEQ ID NO: 41) and oBP603 (SEQ ID NO: 42) to amplify the whole locus. The URA3 marker was recycled by plating on synthetic complete medium supplemented with 1% ethanol and 5-FOA (5-Fluoroorotic Acid) at 30° C. following standard protocols. Marker removal was confirmed by patching colonies from the 5-FOA plates onto synthetic complete medium lacking uracil and supplemented with 1% ethanol to verify the absence of growth. The resulting identified strain, PNY2037, has the genotype: MATa ura3Δ::loxP-kanMX4-loxP his3Δ pdc1Δ::loxP71/66 pdc5Δ::loxP71/66 fra2Δ.

Addition of Native 2 Micron Plasmid

The loxP71-URA3-loxP66 marker was PCR-amplified using Phusion DNA polymerase (New England BioLabs; Ipswich, Mass.) from pLA59 (SEQ ID NO: 21), and transformed along with the LA811x817 (SEQ ID NOs: 43, 44) and LA812x818 (SEQ ID NOs: 45, 46) 2-micron plasmid fragments (amplified from the native 2-micron plasmid from CEN.PK 113-7D; Centraalbureau voor Schimmelcultures (CBS) Fungal Biodiversity Centre) into strain PNY2037 on SE-URA plates at 30° C. The resulting strain PNY2037 2μ::loxP71-URA3-loxP66 was transformed with pLA34 (pRS423::cre) (also called, pLA34) (SEQ ID NO: 27) and selected on SE-HIS-URA plates at 30° C. Transformants were patched onto YP-1% galactose plates and allowed to grow for 48 hours at 30° C. to induce Cre recombinase expression. Individual colonies were then patched onto SE-URA, SE-HIS, and YPE plates to confirm URA3 marker removal. The resulting identified strain, PNY2050, has the genotype: MATa ura3Δ::loxP-kanMX4-loxP, his3Δ pdc1Δ::loxP71/66 pdc5Δ::loxP71/66 fra2Δ 2-micron.

Construction of PNY2115 from PNY2050

Construction of PNY2115 [MATa ura3Δ::loxP his3Δ pdc5Δ::loxP66/71 fra2Δ 2-micron plasmid (CEN.PK2) pdc1Δ::P[PDC1]-ALS|alsS_Bs-CYC1t-loxP71/66 pdc6Δ::(UAS)PGK1-P[FBA1]-KIVD|Lg(y)-TDH3t-loxP71/66 adh1Δ::P[ADH1]-ADH|Bi(y)-ADHt-loxP71/66 fra2Δ::P[ILV5]-ADH|Bi(y)-ADHt-loxP71/66 gpd2Δ::loxP71/66] from PNY2050 was as follows.

Pdc1Δ::P[PDC1]-ALS|alsS Bs-CYC1t-loxP71/66

To integrate alsS into the pdc1Δ::loxP66/71 locus of PNY2050 using the endogenous PDC1 promoter, An integration cassette was PCR-amplified from pLA71 (SEQ ID NO: 52), which contains the gene acetolactate synthase from the species Bacillus subtilis with a FBA1 promoter and a CYC1 terminator, and a URA3 marker flanked by degenerate loxP sites to allow homologous recombination in vivo and subsequent removal of the URA3 marker. PCR was done by using KAPA HiFi and primers 895 (SEQ ID NO: 55) and 679 (SEQ ID NO: 56). The PDC1 portion of each primer was derived from 60 bp of the upstream of the coding sequence and 50 bp that are 53 bp upstream of the stop codon. The PCR product was transformed into PNY2050 using standard genetic techniques and transformants were selected on synthetic complete media lacking uracil and supplemented with 1% ethanol at 30° C. Transformants were screened to verify correct integration by colony PCR using primers 681 (SEQ ID NO: 57), external to the 3′ coding region and 92 (SEQ ID NO: 58), internal to the URA3 gene. Positive transformants were then prepped for genomic DNA and screened by PCR using primers N245 (SEQ ID NO: 59) and N246 (SEQ ID NO: 60). The URA3 marker was recycled by transforming with pLA34 (SEQ ID NO: 27) containing the CRE recombinase under the GAL1 promoter and plated on synthetic complete media lacking histidine and supplemented with 1% ethanol at 30° C. Transformants were plated on rich media supplemented with 1% ethanol and 0.5% galactose to induce the recombinase. Marker removal was confirmed by patching colonies to synthetic complete media lacking uracil and supplemented with 1% ethanol to verify absence of growth. The resulting identified strain, called PNY2090 has the genotype MATa ura3Δ::loxP, his3Δ, pdc1Δ::loxP71/66, pdc5Δ::loxP71/66 fra2Δ 2-micron pdc1Δ::P[PDC1]-ALS|alsS_Bs-CYC1t-loxP71/66.

Pdc6Δ:: (UAS)PGK1-P[FBA1]-KIVD|Lg(y)-TDH3t-loxP71/66

To delete the endogenous PDC6 coding region, an integration cassette was PCR-amplified from pLA78 (SEQ ID NO: 53), which contains the kivD gene from the species Listeria grayi with a hybrid FBA1 promoter and a TDH3 terminator, and a URA3 marker flanked by degenerate loxP sites to allow homologous recombination in vivo and subsequent removal of the URA3 marker. PCR was done by using KAPA HiFi and primers 896 (SEQ ID NO: 61) and 897 (SEQ ID NO: 62). The PDC6 portion of each primer was derived from 60 bp upstream of the coding sequence and 59 bp downstream of the coding region. The PCR product was transformed into PNY2090 using standard genetic techniques and transformants were selected on synthetic complete media lacking uracil and supplemented with 1% ethanol at 30° C. Transformants were screened to verify correct integration by colony PCR using primers 365 (SEQ ID NO: 63) and 366 (SEQ ID NO: 64), internal primers to the PDC6 gene. Transformants with an absence of product were then screened by colony PCR N638 (SEQ ID NO: 65), external to the 5′ end of the gene, and 740 (SEQ ID NO: 66), internal to the FBA1 promoter. Positive transformants were than the prepped for genomic DNA and screened by PCR with two external primers to the PDC6 coding sequence. Positive integrants would yield a 4720 bp product, while PDC6 wild type transformants would yield a 2130 bp product. The URA3 marker was recycled by transforming with pLA34 containing the CRE recombinase under the GAL1 promoter and plated on synthetic complete media lacking histidine and supplemented with 1% ethanol at 30° C. Transformants were plated on rich media supplemented with 1% ethanol and 0.5% galactose to induce the recombinase. Marker removal was confirmed by patching colonies to synthetic complete media lacking uracil and supplemented with 1% ethanol to verify absence of growth. The resulting identified strain is called PNY2093 and has the genotype MATa ura3Δ::loxP his3Δ pdc5Δ::loxP71/66 fra2Δ 2-micron pdc1Δ::P[PDC1]-ALS|alsS_Bs-CYC1t-loxP71/66 pdc6Δ::(UAS)PGK1-P[FBA1]-KIVD|Lg(y)-TDH3t-loxP71/66.

Adh1Δ::P[ADH1]-ADH|Bi(y)-ADHt-loxP71/66

To delete the endogenous ADH1 coding region and integrate BiADH using the endogenous ADH1 promoter, an integration cassette was PCR-amplified from pLA65 (SEQ ID NO: 54), which contains the alcohol dehydrogenase from the species Beijerinckii with an ILV5 promoter and a ADH1 terminator, and a URA3 marker flanked by degenerate loxP sites to allow homologous recombination in vivo and subsequent removal of the URA3 marker. PCR was done by using KAPA HiFi and primers 856 (SEQ ID NO: 67) and 857 (SEQ ID NO: 68). The ADH1 portion of each primer was derived from the 5′ region 50 bp upstream of the ADH1 start codon and the last 50 bp of the coding region. The PCR product was transformed into PNY2093 using standard genetic techniques and transformants were selected on synthetic complete media lacking uracil and supplemented with 1% ethanol at 30° C. Transformants were screened to verify correct integration by colony PCR using primers BK415 (SEQ ID NO: 69), external to the 5′ coding region and N1092 (SEQ ID NO: 70), internal to the BiADH gene. Positive transformants were then screened by colony PCR using primers 413 (SEQ ID NO: 75), external to the 3′ coding region, and 92 (SEQ ID NO: 58), internal to the URA3 marker. The URA3 marker was recycled by transforming with pLA34 (SEQ ID NO: 27) containing the CRE recombinase under the GAL1 promoter and plated on synthetic complete media lacking histidine and supplemented with 1% ethanol at 30° C. Transformants were plated on rich media supplemented with 1% ethanol and 0.5% galactose to induce the recombinase. Marker removal was confirmed by patching colonies to synthetic complete media lacking uracil and supplemented with 1% ethanol to verify absence of growth. The resulting identified strain, called PNY2101 has the genotype MATa ura3Δ::loxP his3Δ pdc5Δ::loxP71/66 fra2Δ 2-micron pdc1Δ::P[PDC1]-ALS|alsS_Bs-CYC1t-loxP71/66 pdc64::(UAS)PGK1-P[FBA1]-KIVD|Lg(y)-TDH3t-loxP71/66 adh1Δ::P[ADH1]-ADH|Bi(y)-ADHt-loxP71/66.

Fra2Δ::P[ILV5]-ADH|Bi(y)-ADHt-loxP71/66

To integrate BiADH into the fra2Δ locus of PNY2101, an integration cassette was PCR-amplified from pLA65 (SEQ ID NO: 54), which contains the alcohol dehydrogenase from the species Beijerinckii indica with an ILV5 promoter and an ADH1 terminator, and a URA3 marker flanked by degenerate loxP sites to allow homologous recombination in vivo and subsequent removal of the URA3 marker. PCR was done by using KAPA HiFi and primers 906 (SEQ ID NO: 71) and 907 (SEQ ID NO: 72). The FRA2 portion of each primer was derived from the first 60 bp of the coding sequence starting at the ATG and 56 bp downstream of the stop codon. The PCR product was transformed into PNY2101 using standard genetic techniques and transformants were selected on synthetic complete media lacking uracil and supplemented with 1% ethanol at 30° C. Transformants were screened to verify correct integration by colony PCR using primers 667 (SEQ ID NO: 73), external to the 5′ coding region and 749 (SEQ ID NO: 74), internal to the ILV5 promoter. The URA3 marker was recycled by transforming with pLA34 (SEQ ID NO: 27) containing the CRE recombinase under the GAL1 promoter and plated on synthetic complete media lacking histidine and supplemented with 1% ethanol at 30° C. Transformants were plated on rich media supplemented with 1% ethanol and 0.5% galactose to induce the recombinase. Marker removal was confirmed by patching colonies to synthetic complete media lacking uracil and supplemented with 1% ethanol to verify absence of growth. The resulting identified strain, called PNY2110 has the genotype MATa ura3Δ::loxP his3Δ pdc5Δ::loxP66/71 2-micron pdc1Δ::P[PDC1]-ALS|alsS_Bs-CYC1t-loxP71/66 pdc6Δ:(UAS)PGK1-P[FBA1]-KIVD|Lg(y)-TDH3t-loxP71/66 adh1Δ::P[ADH1]-ADH|Bi(y)-ADHt-loxP71/66 fra24::P[ILV5]-ADH|Bi(y)-ADHt-loxP71/66.

GPD2 Deletion

To delete the endogenous GPD2 coding region, a deletion cassette was PCR amplified from pLA59 (SEQ ID NO: 21), which contains a URA3 marker flanked by degenerate loxP sites to allow homologous recombination in vivo and subsequent removal of the URA3 marker. PCR was done by using KAPA HiFi and primers LA512 (SEQ ID NO: 47) and LA513 (SEQ ID NO: 48). The GPD2 portion of each primer was derived from the 5′region 50 bp upstream of the GPD2 start codon and 3′ region 50 bp downstream of the stop codon such that integration of the URA3 cassette results in replacement of the entire GPD2 coding region. The PCR product was transformed into PNY2110 using standard genetic techniques and transformants were selected on synthetic complete medium lacking uracil and supplemented with 1% ethanol at 30° C. Transformants were screened to verify correct integration by colony PCR using primers LA516 (SEQ ID NO: 49) external to the 5′ coding region and LA135 (SEQ ID NO: 18), internal to URA3. Positive transformants were then screened by colony PCR using primers LA514 (SEQ ID NO: 50) and LA515 (SEQ ID NO: 51), internal to the GPD2 coding region. The URA3 marker was recycled by transforming with pLA34 (SEQ ID NO: 27) containing the CRE recombinase under the GAL1 promoter and plated on synthetic complete medium lacking histidine and supplemented with 1% ethanol at 30° C. Transformants were plated on rich medium supplemented with 1% ethanol and 0.5% galactose to induce the recombinase. Marker removal was confirmed by patching colonies to synthetic complete medium lacking uracil and supplemented with 1% ethanol to verify absence of growth. The resulting identified strain, called PNY2115, has the genotype MATa ura3Δ::loxP his3Δ pdc5Δ::loxP66/71 fra2Δ 2-micron pdc1Δ::P[PDC1]-ALS|alsS_Bs-CYC1t-loxP71/66 pdc64::(UAS)PGK1-P[FBA1]-KIVD|Lg(y)-TDH3t-loxP71/66 adh1Δ::P[ADH1]-ADH|Bi(y)-ADHt-loxP71/66 fra24::P[ILV5]-ADH|Bi(y)-ADHt-loxP71/66 gpd24::loxP71/66.

Creation of PNY2145 from PNY2115

PNY2145 was constructed from PNY2115 by the additional integration of a phosphoketolase gene cassette at the pdc5A locus and by replacing the native AMN1 gene with a codon optimized version of the ortholog from CEN.PK. Integration constructs are further described below.

pdc5Δ::FBA(L8)-xpk1-CYC1t-loxP71/66

The TEF(M4)-xpk1-CYC1t gene from pRS423::TEF(M4)-xpk1+ENO1-eutD (SEQ ID NO: 76) was PCR amplified using primers N1341 and N1338 (SEQ ID NOs: 77 and 78), generating a 3.1 kb product. The loxP-flanked URA3 gene cassette from pLA59 (SEQ ID NO: 21) was amplified with primers N1033c and N1342 (SEQ ID NOs: 79 and 80), generating a 1.6 kb product. The xpk1 and URA3 PCR products were fused by combining them without primers for an additional 10 cycles of PCR using Phusion DNA polymerase. The resulting reaction mix was then used as a template for a PCR reaction with KAPA Hi Fi and primers N1342 and N1364 (SEQ ID NOs: 80 and 81). A 4.2 kb PCR product was recovered by purification from an electrophoresis agarose gel (Zymo kit). FBA promoter variant L8 (SEQ ID NO: 82) was amplified using primers N1366 and N1368 (SEQ ID NOs: 83 and 84). The xpk1::URA3 PCR product was combined with the FBA promoter by additional rounds of PCR. The resulting product was phosphorylated with polynucleotide kinase and ligated into pBR322 that had been digested with EcoRV and treated with calf intestinal phosphatase. The ligation reaction was transformed into E. coli cells (Stb13 competent cells from Invitrogen). The integration cassette was confirmed by sequencing. To prepare DNA for integration, the plasmid was used as a template in a PCR reaction with Kapa HiFi and primers N1371 and N1372 (SEQ ID NOs: 85 and 86). The PCR product was isolated by phenol-chloroform extraction and ethanol precipitation (using standard methods; e.g., Maniatas, et al.). Five micrograms of DNA were used to transform strain PNY2115. Transformants were selected on medium lacking uracil (synthetic complete medium minus uracil with 1% ethanol as the carbon source). Colonies were screened for the integration event using PCR (JumpStart) with primers BK93 and N1114 (SEQ ID NOs: 87 and 88). Two clones were selected to carry forward. The URA3 marker was recycled by transforming with pJT254 (SEQ ID NO: 89) containing the CRE recombinase under the GAL1 promoter and plating on synthetic complete medium lacking histidine and supplemented with 1% ethanol at 30° C. Transformants were grown in rich medium supplemented with 1% ethanol to derepress the recombinase. Marker removal was confirmed for single colony isolates by patching to synthetic complete medium lacking uracil and supplemented with 1% ethanol to verify absence of growth. Loss of the recombinase plasmid, pJT254, was confirmed by patching the colonies to synthetic complete medium lacking histidine and supplemented with 1% ethanol. Proper marker removal was confirmed by PCR (primers N160SeqF5 (SEQ ID NO: 90) and BK380. One resulting clone was designated PNY2293.

amn1Δ::AMN1(y)-loxP71/66

To replace the endogenous copy of AMN1 with a codon-optimized version of the AMN1 gene from CEN.PK2, an integration cassette containing the CEN.PK AMN1 promoter, AMN1(y) gene (nucleic acid SEQ ID NO: 91; amino acid SEQ ID NO: 92), and CEN.PK AMN1 terminator was assembled by SOE PCR and subcloned into the shuttle vector pLA59. The AMN1(y) gene was ordered from DNA 2.0 with codon-optimization for S. cerevisiae. The completed pLA67 plasmid (SEQ ID NO: 93) contained: 1) pUC19 vector backbone sequence containing an E. coli replication origin and ampicillin resistance gene; 2) URA3 selection marker flanked by loxP71 and loxP66 sites; and 3) P_(AMN1(CEN.PK))-AMN1(y)-term_(AMN1(CEN.PK)) expression cassette

PCR amplification of the AMN1(y)-loxP71-URA3-loxP66 cassette was done by using KAPA HiFi from Kapa Biosystems, Woburn, Mass. and primers LA712 (SEQ ID NO: 94) and LA746 (SEQ ID NO: 95). The PCR product was transformed into PNY2293 using standard genetic techniques and transformants were selected on synthetic complete medium lacking uracil and supplemented with 1% ethanol at 30° C. Transformants were observed under magnification for the absence of a clumping phenotype with respect to the control (PNY2293). The URA3 marker was recycled using the pJT254 Cre recombinase plasmid as described above. After marker recycle, clones were again observed under magnification to confirm absence of the clumping phenotype. A resulting identified strain, PNY2145, has the genotype: MATa ura3Δ::loxP his3Δ pdc5Δ::P[FBA(L8)]-XPK|xpk1_Lp-CYCt-loxP66/71 fra2Δ 2-micron plasmid (CEN.PK2) pdc1Δ::P[PDC1]-ALS|alsS_Bs-CYC1t-loxP71/66 pdc6Δ::(UAS)PGK1-P[FBA1]-KIVD|Lg(y)-TDH3t-loxP71/66 adh1Δ::P[ADH1]-ADH|Bi(y)-ADHt-loxP71/66 fra2Δ::P[ILV5]-ADH|Bi(y)-ADHt-loxP71/66 gpd2Δ::loxP71/66 amn1Δ::AMN1(y).

Creation of PNY1621 from PNY2145

Strain PNY1621 was constructed from strain PNY2145. The chimeric gene on chromosome XII in PNY2145 consisting of the PDC1 promoter, alsS coding region, CYC1 terminator, and loxP71/66 site was deleted from 750 bp upstream of the alsS coding region to the first base of native PDC1 3′ UTR region. The region was deleted using CRE-lox mediated marker removal. The region was replaced with a chimeric gene comprised of the FBA1::HXT1_(—)331 promoter and the alsS coding region from Bacillus subtilis. The native PDC1 terminator was used to complete the chimeric gene. A loxP71/66 site flanked by two priming sites remained upstream of the promoter after CRE-mediated marker removal. The sequence of the modified locus is provided in SEQ ID NO:96 (native upstream region=nt 1-100; priming site-loxP71/66-priming site=nt 109-203; FBA1::HXT1_(—)331 promoter=nt 210-985; alsS coding region=nt 994-2709; native downstream region=nt 2716-2815). The sequence of the resulting locus was confirmed by sequencing and/or PCR. Plasmids were introduced into the strain for expression of KARI and DHAD (pLH804::L2V4, plasmid SEQ ID NO:97) and KivD and ADH (pRS413::BiADH-kivD_Lg(y), plasmid SEQ ID NO:98). pLH804::L2V4 was constructed to contain a chimeric gene having the coding region of the ilvD gene from Streptococcus mutans containing the L2V4 mutation (nt position 5356-3641) expressed from the yeast TEF1 mutant 7 promoter (nt 5766-5366; Nevoigt et al. 2006. Applied and Environmental Microbiology, v72 p5266) and followed by the FBA1 terminator (nt 3632-3320) for expression of DHAD, and a chimeric gene having the coding region of the K9JB4P mutant ilvC gene from Anaeropstipes cacae (nt 1628-2659) expressed from the yeast ILV5 promoter (nt 434-1614) and followed by the ILV5 terminator (nt 2673-3307) for expression of KARI. pRS413::BiADH-kivD_Lg(y) was constructed to contain a chimeric gene having the coding region of the kivD gene from Listeria grayi codon optimized for expression in Saccharomyces cerevisiae (nt position 2902-4548) expressed from the UAS(PGK1) FBA1 promoter (nt 2169-2893) and followed by the TDH3 terminator (nt 4560-5139) for expression of KivD, and a chimeric gene having the coding region of the adh gene from Beijerinckia indica codon optimized for expression in Saccharomyces cerevisiae (nt 6853-7896) expressed from the yeast PDC1 promoter (nt 5983-6852) and followed by the ADH1 terminator (nt 7905-8220) for expression of ADH. The resulting strain was designated PNY1621.

Example 1 Effect of Partial Adaptation of Butanologen in Production Phase of Fermentation

This example provides one method to generate the substantially adapted and partially adapted recombinant microorganisms and to subsequently test for performance in production.

Glycerol Stock Preparation:

Cells of the engineered yeast strain PNY1621 were inoculated in 20 ml synthetic complete medium (1× yeast nitrogen base without amino acids (Becton Dickinson; Franklin Lakes, N.J.), 1× amino acid drop-out without Histidine and Uracil (Clonetech; Mountain View, Calif.) containing 2 g/l glucose (Sigma; St. Louis, Mo.) and 2 g/l ethanol) in 125 ml flask. Cells were grown at 30° C. for 24 hours with agitation at 200 rpm. This culture was used to inoculate 90 ml of fresh synthetic complete medium (with 2 g/l ethanol and 2 g/l glucose) in 250 ml flask and grown for 24 hours at 30° C. and 200 rpm. After 24 hours, cells were harvested by centrifugation at 4000 rpm for 5 minutes and re-suspended at an initial OD_(600nm) of 20 in synthetic complete medium containing 2 g/l ethanol and 20% v/v glycerol (Sigma). These cells were distributed in aliquots of 1 ml in screw cap tubes and frozen using slow freezers and stored at −80° C. (glycerol stocks) until use.

Substantially Adapted Biomass Generation

A.1 Seed Stage

Seed culture was prepared in three stages: pre-seed, seed 1, and seed 2. Pre-seed culture was started by inoculating 3 vials of 20 OD glycerol stock in 100 ml of filter sterilized preseed medium (containing 0.65 g/l amino acid dropout without Histidine, Uracil and Leucine (Clonetech), 60 mg/l Leucine (Sigma), 6.5 g/l yeast nitrogen base without amino acids (Difco; Becton Dickinson), 20 g/l glucose, 19.5 g/14-Morpholineethane-sulphonic acid (Sigma), 50 mg/l ampicillin ((Himedia; Mumbai, India) with pH adjusted to 5.5 using 1M H₂SO₄) in 500 ml flask and grown at 30° C. and 250 rpm for 24 hours. Seed 1 stage was initiated by adding 40 ml of pre-seed culture in 200 ml of filter sterilized fresh pre-seed medium with pH of 5.5 in 1 L flask and incubated at 30° C. and 250 rpm for 24 hours. In the seed 2 stage, 80 ml of seed 1 culture was inoculated in 400 ml of fresh pre-seed medium in 2 L flask and incubated at 30° C. and 250 rpm for 24 hours.

Partially Adapted Biomass Generation

B.1 Seed Stage

Seed culture was prepared in three stages: pre-seed, seed 1, and seed 2. Pre-seed culture was started by inoculating 3 vials of 20 OD glycerol stock in 100 ml of filter sterilized pre-seed medium (containing 0.65 g/l amino acid dropout without Histidine, Uracil and Leucine (Clonetech), 60 mg/l Leucine (Sigma), 6.5 g/l yeast nitrogen base without amino acids (Difco), 10 g/l glucose, 5 g/l ethanol, 19.5 g/14-Morpholineethane-sulphonic acid (Sigma), 50 mg/l ampicillin ((Himedia) with pH adjusted to 5.5 using 1M H₂SO₄) in 500 ml flask and grown at 30° C. and 250 rpm for 24 hours. Seed 1 stage was initiated by adding 40 ml of pre-seed culture in 200 ml of filter sterilized seed flask medium (containing 6.7 g/l yeast nitrogen base without amino acids (Difco), 2.8 g/l amino acid drop out mix without histidine, uracil and leucine (Clonetech), 200 mg/l of leucine, 40 mg/l of tryptophan, 2 g/l yeast extract (Becton Dickinson), 4 g/l peptone (Becton Dickinson), 19.5 g/14-Morpholineethane-sulphonic acid (Sigma), 10 g/l glucose, 5 g/l ethanol, and 50 mg/l Ampicillin) with pH adjusted to 5.5 using 1M H₂SO₄) in 1 L flask and incubated at 30° C. and 250 rpm for 24 hours. In the seed 2 stage, 80 ml of seed 1 culture was inoculated in 400 ml of fresh seed flask medium (as described above) in 2 L flask and incubated at 30° C. and 250 rpm for 24 hours.

B.2 Glucose Limited Fed-Batch (GLFB) Phase for Isobutanologen PNY1621 Biomass Generation

The growth phase was initiated by inoculating a 2 L Biostat B Plus vessel fermenter containing 1 L growth medium (containing 8 g/l potassium phosphate monobasic, 8 g/l ammonium phosphate monobasic, 3 g/l ammonium sulfate, 3 g/l magnesium sulfate heptahydrate, 0.03 g/l ferrous sulfate heptahydrate, 2 g/l yeast extract, 1 ml/l delft trace elements 1000×), 2 g/l delft vitamin solution 1000×, 4.3 mg/l riboflavin, 50 mg/l ampicillin with pH adjusted to 5.5 using 1M H₂SO₄/2M NaOH) at target cell density of 1 g/l by centrifuging cells at 4000 rpm from seed 2 stage. (1000× delft trace mineral solution contains 15 g/l EDTA, 4.5 g/l zinc sulphate heptahydrate, 0.84 g/l manganese chloride dihydrate, 0.3 g/l cobalt(II)chloride hexahydrate, 0.3 g/l copper (II) sulphate pentahydrate, 0.4 g/l di-sodium molybdenum dihydrate, 4.5 g/l calcium chloride dihydrate, 3 g/l iron sulphate heptahydrate, 1 g/l boric acid, 0.1 g/l potassium iodide per liter of solution made in water. 1000× delft vitamin solution contains 0.05 g/l biotin (D−), 1 g/l calcium D(+) panthotenate, 1 g/l nicotinic acid, 25 g/l myo-inositol (for microbiology), 1 g/l thiamine hydrochloride, 1 g/l pyridoxal hydrochloride, 0.2 g/l p-aminobenzoic acid, 0.2 g/l riboflavin (−), and 2 mg/l folic acid). The air flow rate was fixed constant at 1 LPM. Dissolved oxygen was maintained at 30% by varying stirrer speed from 500 to 1200 rpm. The temperature was maintained at 30° C., and pH was maintained at 5.5 using 15% (v/v) ammonia solution. Fermenter was started with initial sugar of 5 g/l glucose and 5 g/l ethanol and RQ-based feed-back feeding was done to maintain RQ=1.25. The feed composition used was 400 g/l glucose and 8 g/l of yeast extract. The harvest time of the fermenter was decided by saturation in feeding rate and/or cell density of around 15 g/l. The samples were taken periodically for analysis with 10 ml of sample each time. A portion of sample was used for dry cell weight measurement, and the remaining sample was centrifuged and stored in −80° C. for further analysis using HPLC (Table 4).

TABLE 4 Glucose limited fed-batch growth phase data Time (hr) Cell Density (g/L) Isobutyric Acid (g/L) Isobutanol (g/L) 0 1.2 0.0 0.0 5 3.0 0.2 0.3 9 3.6 0.3 0.2 10 10.8 1.7 1.2 22 13.9 2.4 1.7 26 14.9 2.3 1.8

B.3 Propagation Phase in 6% Dry Solid Corn Mash Medium

The propagation phase was initiated at a cell density of 1 g/l by centrifuging cells grown in the GLFB at RQ=1.25 and resuspending in 1000 mL of medium containing 6% dry solid corn mash, 2 g/l yeast extract, 30 mg/l thiamine, 30 mg/l nicotinic acid, 5 g/l ethanol, 50 mg/l ampicillin. The temperature was maintained at 30° C., and pH was maintained at 5.5 using 15% (v/v) ammonia solution. The air flow rate was fixed constant at 1 LPM. Dissolved oxygen was maintained at 30% by varying stirrer speed from 400 to 1000 rpm. The samples were taken periodically for analysis with 10 ml of sample each time. A portion of sample was used for dry cell weight measurement, and the remaining sample was centrifuged and stored in −80° C. for further analysis using HPLC (Table 5).

TABLE 5 Propagation phase data Time Cell Density Isobutyric Acid Isobutanol q_(p) (hr) (g/L) (g/L) (g/L) (g/g dcw/hr) 0 1.0 0.0 0.0 0.037 4 2.8 0.1 0.2 0.045 17 6.1 0.8 3.1 0.1

C. Production Performance for Substantially and Partially Adapted Cells Under Anaerobic Conditions.

Two production runs were initiated at a cell density of 0.3-0.4 g/L. For substantially adapted cell performance testing, cells were centrifuged from seed stage 2 (A.1) and re-suspended in 800 ml production medium. For partially adapted cell performance testing cells were centrifuged from propagation phase (B.2) and re-suspended in the 800 ml production medium. The production medium contains 2.8 g/l K₂HPO₄, 5 g/l ammonium sulphate, 1.9 g/l magnesium sulphate heptahydrate, 6 ml/l of 1000× delft vitamin solution, 6 ml/l of 1000× delft trace solution, 50 mg/l ampicillin and 3.7 g/l yeast dropout without Histidine, Uracil (Clonetech). The temperature was maintained at 30° C., and pH was maintained at 5.2 using KOH. The gas flow rate was maintained at 0.3 LPM nitrogen (anaerobic). The feed composition used was 50% glucose (% w/v). The glucose levels were maintained between 5-50 g/l in fed-batch mode. Sampling was done periodically, and samples were stored in −80° C. freezer for further analysis using HPLC and GC. Sugars and metabolites were analyzed in 1260 infinity HPLC (Agilent Life Sciences; Santa Clara, Calif.) using HPX 87N AMINEX column 300×7.8 mm (BioRad laboratories; Hercules, Calif.).

When substantially adapted and partially adapted cells were tested under similar condition for production no compromise in the isobutanol production performance was observed (Table 6). The cell growth performance in production tank of partially adapted cells (1.9 g/l) was better as compared to substantially adapted cells (1.3 g/l). The partially adapted cells did not show any compromise in effective isobutanol titer.

TABLE 6 Production phase performance of substantially and partially adapted cell Substantially adapted cell Partially adapted cell performance performance Cell Eff. Cell Eff. Time Density Isobutanol q_(p) (g/g Density Isobutanol q_(p) (g/g (hr) (g/L) titer (g/L) dcw/hr) (g/L) titer (g/L) dcw/hr) 0 0.3 0.0 0.31 0.3 0.0 0.16 4 0.4 0.2 0.32 0.5 0.1 0.17 6 0.4 0.2 0.32 0.7 0.4 0.17 10 0.4 0.6 0.32 0.9 0.5 0.18 24 1.1 4.2 0.37 1.2 3.0 0.24 30 1.2 7.2 0.39 1.3 5.5 0.27 33 1.2 8.8 0.41 1.6 7.2 0.29 48 1.4 16.4 0.48 1.8 15.2 0.39 53 1.3 20.8 0.51 1.9 18.6 0.43

Example 2 Effect of Initial Biomass Pitching on Cell Performance in Term of Pathway Adaptation in Propagation Tank

Glycerol stock preparation. Cells of the engineered yeast strain PNY1621 were inoculated in 20 ml synthetic complete medium (1× yeast nitrogen base without amino acids (Becton Dickinson), 1× amino acid drop-out without Histidine and Uracil (Clonetech) containing 2 g/l glucose (Sigma) and 2 g/l ethanol) in 125 ml flask. Cells were grown at 30° C. for 24 hours with agitation at 200 rpm. This culture was used to inoculate 90 ml of fresh synthetic complete medium (with 2 g/l ethanol and 2 g/l glucose) in 250 ml flask and grown for 24 hours at 30° C. and 200 rpm. After 24 hours, cells were harvested by centrifugation at 4000 rpm for 5 minutes and re-suspended at an initial OD_(600nm) of 20 in synthetic complete medium containing 2 g/l ethanol and 20% v/v glycerol (Sigma). These cells were distributed in aliquots of 1 ml in screw cap tubes and frozen using slow freezers and stored at −80° C. (glycerol stocks) until use.

Seed Stage

Seed culture was prepared in three stages: pre-seed, seed 1, and seed 2. Pre-seed culture was started by inoculating 3 vials of 20 OD glycerol stock in 100 ml of filter sterilized pre-seed medium (containing 0.65 g/l amino acid dropout without Histidine, Uracil and Leucine (Clonetech), 60 mg/l Leucine (Sigma), 6.5 g/l yeast nitrogen base without amino acids (Difco), 10 g/l glucose, 5 g/l ethanol, 19.5 g/14-morpholineethane-sulphonic acid (Sigma), 50 mg/l ampicillin ((Himedia) with pH adjusted to 5.5 using 1M H₂SO₄) in 500 ml flask and grown at 30° C. and 250 rpm for 24 hours. Seed 1 stage was initiated by adding 40 ml of pre-seed culture in 200 ml of filter sterilized seed flask medium (containing 6.7 g/l yeast nitrogen base without amino acids (Difco), 2.8 g/l amino acid drop out mix without histidine, uracil and leucine (Clonetech), 200 mg/l of leucine, 40 mg/l of tryptophan, 2 g/l yeast extract (Becton Dickinson), 4 g/l peptone (Becton Dickinson), 19.5 g/14-morpholineethane-sulphonic acid (Sigma), 10 g/l glucose, 5 g/l ethanol, and 50 mg/l ampicillin) with pH adjusted to 5.5 using 1M H₂SO₄) in 1 L flask and incubated at 30° C. and 250 rpm for 24 hours. In the seed 2 stage, 80 ml of seed 1 culture was inoculated in 400 ml of fresh seed flask medium in 2 L flask and incubated at 30° C. and 250 rpm for 24 hours.

Glucose Limited Fed-Batch (GLFB) Phase for Isobutanologen PNY1621 Biomass Generation

The growth phase was initiated by inoculating 2 L Biostat B Plus vessel fermenter containing 1 L growth medium (containing 8 g/l potassium phosphate monobasic, 8 g/l ammonium phosphate monobasic, 3 g/l ammonium sulfate, 3 g/l magnesium sulfate heptahydrate, 0.03 g/l ferrous sulfate heptahydrate, 2 g/l yeast extract, 1 ml/l delft trace elements (1000×), 2 g/l delft vitamin solution 1000×, 4.3 mg/l riboflavin, 50 mg/l ampicillin with pH adjusted to 5.5 using 1M H₂SO₄/2M NaOH) at target cell density of 1 g/l by centrifuging cells at 4000 rpm from seed 2 stage. The air flow rate was fixed constant at 1 LPM. Dissolved oxygen was maintained at 30% by varying stirrer speed from 500 to 1200 rpm. The temperature was maintained at 30° C., and pH was maintained at 5.5 using 15% (v/v) ammonia solution. Fermenter was started with initial sugar of 5 g/l glucose and 5 g/l ethanol and RQ-based feed-back feeding was done to maintain RQ=1.25. The feed composition used was 400 g/l glucose and 8 g/l of yeast extract. The harvest time of the fermenter was decided by saturation in feeding rate and/or cell density of around 14 g/l. The samples were taken periodically for analysis with 10 ml of sample each time. A portion of sample was used for dry cell weight measurement, and the remaining sample was centrifuged and stored in −80° C. for further analysis using HPLC (Table 7).

TABLE 7 Glucose limited fed-batch growth phase data Time (hr) Cell density (g/L) Isobutyirc Acid (g/L) Isobutanol (g/L) 0 1.1 0.0 0.0 4 1.5 0.0 0.2 8 3.4 0.0 0.4 22 9.6 1.5 0.6 26 14.3 2.9 1.0

Propagation Phase in 6% Dry Solid Corn Mash Medium

Propagation phase was initiated by centrifuging cells grown in the GLFB at RQ=1.25 and re-suspending in 1000 ml of medium containing 6% dry solid corn mash, 2 g/l yeast extract, 30 mg/l thiamine, 30 mg/l nicotinic acid, 5 g/l ethanol, 50 mg/l ampicillin. The temperature was maintained at 30° C., and pH was maintained at 5.5 using 15% (v/v) ammonia solution. The air flow rate was fixed constant at 1 LPM. Dissolved oxygen was maintained at 30% by varying stirrer speed from 400 to 1000 rpm. To test effect of initial biomass loading in propagation tank, two propagation tanks were run at an initial cell density of 0.25 and 1 g/l respectively. The samples were taken periodically for analysis with 10 ml of sample each time. A portion of sample was used for dry cell weight measurement, and the remaining sample was centrifuged and stored in −80° C. for further analysis using HPLC.

When the cells were pitched at different levels in the propagation tank, the difference in cell growth and product profile was observed (Table 8). The cells pitched at a lower cell density (0.25 g/l) grew to final biomass of 4.7 g/L (5 generations) and the cells pitched at a higher cell density (1 g/l) grew to final biomass of 7.2 g/L (2.5-3 generation). The isobutanol produced in low pitched tank (titer=4 g/L) was more than high pitched tank (titer=2.5 g/L) even though cell density was higher in high pitch tank. This could indicate a higher q_(p) in the low pitch tank as compared to the q_(p) of the culture in the high pitch tank.

TABLE 8 Propagation phase data: Effect of initial biomass loading (pitching) on cell growth and product profile Low Pitch at 0.25 g/L High Pitch at 1 g/L Cell Cell Time Denisty Isobutyric Isobutanol Density Isobutyric Isobutanol (hr) (g/L) Acid (g/L) (g/L) (g/L) Acid (g/L) (g/L) 0 0.3 0.0 0.0 1.0 0.0 0.0 3 1.0 0.1 0.1 2.5 0.2 0.3 16 4.7 0.4 3.9 7.2 0.9 2.5 

1. A process for producing an improved culture of cells comprising an engineered butanol biosynthetic pathway: a) providing a cell culture of recombinant microorganisms comprising an engineered butanol biosynthetic pathway, wherein said engineered butanol biosynthetic pathway is minimally or not activated; and b) growing the culture of recombinant microorganisms under adaptive conditions whereby pathway activation is increased to produce an improved cell culture and whereby said improved cell culture is capable of continuing to grow in fermentation.
 2. The process of claim 1, wherein the engineered butanol biosynthetic pathway is selected from the group consisting of: (a) a 1-butanol biosynthetic pathway; (b) a 2-butanol biosynthetic pathway; and (c) an isobutanol biosynthetic pathway.
 3. The process of claim 1, wherein the provided cell culture of recombinant microorganisms is minimally activated.
 4. The process of claim 3, wherein the minimally activated culture of step (a) is provided at a q_(p) of at least about 0.01% of the maximum q_(p) of the culture.
 5. The process of claim 3, wherein the minimally activated culture of step (a) is provided at a q_(p) of at least about 0.01 gram per gram of dry cell weight per hour (g/g dcw/hr).
 6. The process of claim 1, wherein the adaptive conditions comprises at least one of a source of carbon substrate, a dissolved oxygen concentration, a temperature, a pH, a substrate concentration, a butanol concentration, a 2-butanone concentration, or a component of the fermentation medium.
 7. The process of claim 6, wherein the adaptive condition comprises a substrate concentration and a dissolved oxygen concentration.
 8. The process of claim 7, wherein the substrate is glucose.
 9. The process of claim 8, wherein the glucose concentration is about 1 g/L to about 50 g/L.
 10. The process of claim 9, wherein the dissolved oxygen concentration is characterized as a microaerobic to aerobic condition.
 11. The process of claim 10, wherein the microoaerobic to aerobic condition is characterized by a specific oxygen uptake rate (Sp. OUR) of the recombinant microorganism of at least about 0.5 millimoles per gram cells per hour (mM/g cells/hr) to at least about 5 mM/g cells/hr.
 12. The process of claim 6, wherein growing the culture under adaptive conditions increases pathway activation such that the q_(p) increases to about 20% to about 50% of the maximum q_(p) of the culture.
 13. The process of claim 6, wherein growing the culture under adaptive conditions increases pathway activation such that the q_(p) increases to about 0.1 g/g dcw/hr to about 0.5 g/g dcw/hr.
 14. The process of claim 6, wherein growing the culture under adaptive conditions increases pathway activation by an activation ratio of at least about
 10. 15. (canceled)
 16. The process of claim 1, wherein the improved cell culture is characterized by at least one of an increase in biomass production, a reduction in the amount of time for the fermentation, or a reduction or elimination of the production of an inhibitory product.
 17. The process of claim 16, wherein growing the culture under adaptive conditions increases the biomass production of the culture to a cell density of about 5 g/L to about 15 g/L.
 18. (canceled)
 19. The process of claim 16, wherein the inhibitory product is butanol.
 20. The process of claim 19, wherein growing the culture under adaptive conditions reduces the butanol concentration to about 0.1 g/L to about 10 g/L.
 21. (canceled)
 22. The process of claim 16, wherein the inhibitory product is isobutyric acid.
 23. The process of claim 22, wherein the growing the culture under adaptive conditions reduces the isobutyric acid concentration to about 0.1 g/L to about 2.5 g/L. 24-27. (canceled)
 28. The process of claim 6, wherein the dissolved oxygen concentration is characterized as a microaerobic to anaerobic condition.
 29. The process of claim 28, wherein the microaerobic to anaerobic condition is characterized by a specific oxygen uptake rate (Sp. OUR) of the recombinant microorganism of at least about 0 millimoles per gram cells per hour (mM/g cells/hour) to at least about 2.5 mM/g cells/hr.
 30. The process of claim 28, wherein growing the culture under adaptive conditions increases pathway activation of the culture such that the q_(p) increases to at least about 50% of the maximum q_(p) of the culture. 31-32. (canceled)
 33. The process of claim 28, wherein growing the culture under adaptive conditions increases pathway activation of the culture such that the qp increases to at least about 0.5 g/g dcw/hr.
 34. (canceled)
 35. The process of claim 28, wherein growing the culture under adaptive conditions increases pathway activation by an activation ratio of at least about
 40. 36. (canceled)
 37. The process of claim 30, wherein the improved cell culture is characterized by at least one of an increase in biomass production, a reduction in the amount of time for the fermentation, an increase in butanol yield, an increase in butanol productivity, an increase in biomass yield, or a delay in the production of an inhibitory product.
 38. The process of claim 37, wherein growing the culture under adaptive conditions increases the biomass production of the culture such that the culture is capable of growing for at least one generation in the fermentation.
 39. The process of claim 37, wherein growing the culture under adaptive conditions increases the biomass production of the culture such that the culture is capable of growing for at least two generations in the fermentation.
 40. The process of claim 37, wherein the butanol yield is increased to least about 30 g/L.
 41. (canceled)
 42. The process of claim 1, wherein the recombinant microorganism is selected from a genus from the group consisting of Clostridium, Zymomonas, Escherichia, Salmonella, Serratia, Erwinia, Klebsiella, Shigella, Rhodococcus, Pseudomonas, Bacillus, Lactobacillus, Lactococcus, Enterococcus, Alcaligenes, Paenibacillus, Arthrobacter, Corynebacterium, Brevibacterium, Schizosaccharomyces, Kluveromyces, Yarrowia, Pichia, Zygosaccharomyces, Debaryomyces, Candida, Brettanomyces, Pachysolen, Hansenula, Issatchenkia, Trichosporon, Yamadazyma, and Saccharomyces.
 43. (canceled) 